Angel's Treasure
by Lullaby121
Summary: Sequel to Memories Within the Flames. After discovering that Bolas is hunting for something called Serra's Lost Treasure the planeswalkers go to a lost world to try and find the treasure before the elder dragon's minions do. They run into interesting challenges and obstacles along the way.
1. Chapter 1

"Fair warning," Chandra said suddenly, just as they were about to leave Sun's Reprieve. Many days had passed since the group had reluctantly and tentatively agreed to assist Chandra in her personal war against the elder dragons. Elspeth had pointed out that first they had to find Serra's Lost Treasure and prevent Bolas from getting his hands on it. She knew it had been split into three pieces and if the pieces were to be combined and a command word spoken the energy within the treasure would be released. "On the world we're going to the mana is so unused and concentrated that using excessive amounts of it is extremely poisonous. Like deadly," Chandra smiled sheepishly, "Sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

Jace stared at her, "You're serious?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

On Elspeth's recommendation they were going to search an extremely isolated lost world that was so broken away from the multiverse that the only way to get there was to get lost, which was potentially very, very dangerous. Jace had agreed that something as powerful as the treasure was more than likely hidden somewhere very isolated like that world.

"So...that means we won't be able to use any magic?" Ral asked.

"Very tiny amounts of it at most," Chandra shrugged. She flicked a flame at Ral, "I won't even be able to do that without getting sick."

"How are we going to leave then?" Jace snapped.

"Echo," Chandra shrugged, "She's already working on coming up with a fix for that."

"What about those jumper things?"

"They don't work with us. A planeswalker's presence in general can screw it up," Chandra said, "It was made so no 'bad' planeswalker could use it for their own advantage. It will still turn on and you'd still be able to see the map and what not but it would malfunction if you tried to get it to take you anywhere. She's modifying that for us but it'll be a little bit."

"Besides, we're hunting for something that's in three pieces at least," Gideon said, "So it'll more than likely be ready to go before we are."

Jace sighed, "Fine. Let's get this over with already."

The group left.

"Our timing was off," Chandra explained once they regrouped after landing, "so the four of us," she motioned to Jace, Lilianna, and Ral, "passed through a temporal rift."

"I'm younger!" Ral grinned.

Gideon looked them all over uneasily, "That's young though."

"A decade at most," Jace said, "However it does not appear that we all lost a decade in our age. I haven't seen a mirror so I wouldn't be able to tell you about my age. However, it would appear that Chandra and Lilianna are now around the same age. I'd say somewhere around 15. Ral appears to be older than them at 16."

"You look younger than all of us, Cat Ears," Ral snickered.

Jace shot him an icy cold look, "Like I care."

"Luckily we landed outside a city that is used to...'unnatural' occurrences," Chandra said.

"What city?" Kallist asked.

"It's called Elendeth City. It's the home base of the Lotus on this world and stuff like us happens all the time here."

"That's actually reassuring," Ral nodded, "So we won't stand out too bad."

"Unfortunately it also means that certain organizations and agencies are very interested in this city," Chandra said.

"So the fact that we have unusual abilities would attract their attention," Jace concluded.

Chandra nodded.

"I think only your physical appearances changed," Kallist said.

"Don't worry," Chandra smirked, "The decreased age takes longer to take effect in the mind. Our maturity will decrease over the next few weeks."

Jace stared at her, "What?!"

"That's uncalled for," Lilianna crossed her arms over her chest angrily, "I don't want to-"

"Too bad," Chandra shrugged. She sighed, "We should get to the Lotus Hotel before long. Our clothes are...odd."

"Odd?"

"No one here walks around in steel armor," Chandra looked at Gideon, Kallist and Elspeth, "or cloaks or anything else like that." She led the way through the alleys of the city. It was almost dawn on this world and everyone of them could feel the drastic difference in time. The sun was already above the horizon by the time they slid into the hotel through the back door.

"Phoe-what happened?" Shadow asked in surprise.

"Temporal rift," Chandra shrugged, "We need clothes and a house that can hold four kids that won't get along very well as well as Gideon, Kallist, Kaechia, and Elspeth. Oh yeah. And a baby dragon."

Shadow's eyes widened, "Are you going to be able to pay the rent on that?"

Chandra shrugged, "We'll see. Eclipse gives discounts."

Shadow nodded. She smiled, "By the way, Michael and David are giving Lotus a hard time. She's spent the past four days sleeping in the hotel."

Chandra nodded, "I'll take care of that in a second." She turned back to her companions, "Stay here. Don't go anywhere until we get clothes."

"What about you?" Kaechia asked.

Chandra smirked, "I come here sometimes so I've already got clothes." She turned away, "Don't worry about style. I'll pick stuff that fits your personalities."

Ral grinned, "Jace still has cat ears and a tail."

"And you're still an obnoxious annoying lightning mage," Lilianna shrugged, "Your point?"

"I don't see how it's so amazing," Jace muttered.

"Oh yeah," Lilianna took Jace's hand and led him to the mirror that leaned against the end of the hallway up the stairs.

"Dammit," Jace muttered as he saw his reflection. It looked as though he was a whole decade younger.

"You're the youngest Cat Ears!" Ral grinned as he used Jace's shoulder as an armrest.

"You're the oldest," Lilianna smirked, "You get to be an adult again first."

"Well damn," Ral sighed.

"I doubt he'll ever be the oldest mentally," Jace walked away unhappily.

"What's wrong with you Cat Ears?" Ral jogged after him.

"Nothing," Jace shook his head.

"Cat Ears!" Ral stood in front of him, "As I am now older than you, what's wrong?"

"I don't have to answer that just because you've decided you have authority here," Jace muttered. He pushed past Ral and continued down the stairs. _This isn't going to end well I don't think. Things like this never end well._ He looked around the main hall of the hotel. It was empty as the building had yet to open for the day and the people staying over night weren't going to be up for a while.

"Lilianna," Chandra grunted as she returned carrying a giant bag over her shoulder.

"What is it?" Lilianna sneered.

"When's your birthday?"

"My...what?" Lilianna stared at her in surprise, "Why do you care?"

"We're both fifteen. We have to figure out who's older," Chandra sighed as she dropped the bag in the middle of the room, "Go through those and pick out what you want. Everything else can come with us when we finally get the house figured out.

"You sure know what's going on here Beautiful," Ral picked curiously through the clothes in the bag.

"I've been here a few times," Chandra shrugged. She turned back to Lilianna, "Well?"

Lilianna crossed her arms over her chest, "October 17."

Chandra grinned, "I'm older than you."

"What?! When's your birthday?!" Lilianna glared at her.

"March 21," Chandra smirked.

"You're still the shortest of us," Lilianna stalked past her.

Chandra spun around to face her, "So?"

"They're already less mature than they were two hours ago," Gideon noticed uneasily.

Jace glanced at him and then looked at where Chandra and Lilianna were arguing. _About their birthday of all things. And size. And actually I think she's taller than me. Oh well. It's not like it matters. How'd she know what size clothes to get anyway? She's never been good at estimating. Then again she went with Echo and she's...she's...UGH! I can't think of the right word._

"Actually," Ral butted into their argument, "Cat Ears come here."

"Is this necessary?" Jace snapped. He crossed his arms over his chest and remained where he was.

"Fine," Ral grabbed Chandra and led her to where Jace was standing, "Cat Ears is now shorter than Beautiful."

Jace felt everyone's shocked gazes boring into him. He hissed through gritted teeth, "It doesn't matter how tall we are. We're here for a reason. The sooner we find that treasure thing the sooner we can leave." He stalked away. _This isn't going to end well. Bolas has such a head start on us. It's what he was looking for during the tournament thing on Ravnica. It's what he was looking for when we helped the guilds defend Ravnica from an army of terrifyingly inhuman constructs as well as our construct doubles. It's what he was looking for that entire time._ He looked over his shoulder, "Where's the library?"

Chandra rolled her eyes hard enough her head followed the motion of her eyes, "Really? First you need to change and then I'll show you where the library is."

"Oh," Jace sighed. He grabbed some clothes and a scarf and disappeared up the stairs.

"Would a library here really have what Jace would be looking for?" Kallist asked. He stared at the stairs where Jace had disappeared worriedly.

"I know of a library that has a...secret section that _might_ have what he's looking for," Chandra explained.

"If it doesn't he's going to be in a bad mood," Lilianna said.

"Well," Shadow interrupted, "It looks like there's a house with six bedrooms in it. It's relatively expensive though so Eclipse is charging a higher rent. Though it is very much less expensive than the rent you'd be paying to anyone else."

Chandra nodded, "How much?"

"$980 a month," Shadow said.

Chandra's eyes widened, "Extortionist bastard."

Lilianna snickered, "That's rude to say to someone that's being so generous."

Chandra scowled at her.

"Jace help bring stuff into the house," Gideon said.

Jace crossed his arms over his chest and met Gideon's gaze defiantly, "What about the library?"

"After stuff gets moved into the house," Gideon said.

Jace shook his head, "You can't change the-"

"Jace," Elspeth said sternly, "Help."

Jace turned and glared at her.

Elspeth met his gaze. Her eyes turned gold and they narrowed. Golden flames leaped from her left eye.

Jace's eyes widened and he took a step back in surprise.

"Now." Elspethe ordered.

Jace nodded quickly and darted past her. _That eye is creepy. I know it's because she's technically dead. It was a power given to her by Erebos so she could see what's going on with us no matter where she was. It's still terrifying._

"Helping out?" Kallist asked. His tone was friendly if somewhat surprised.

"Elspeth said to," Jace shrugged gloomily.

Kallist handed him a stack of shelves, "Those go with the bookshelves that are already inside."

"How many bookshelves?" Jace asked instantly.

"Um...there's seven right now," Kallist shrugged, "I have no idea if there are anymore."

"That would explain the number of shelves," Jace nodded. He took them and awkwardly carried them back into the house. _'Fair warning. On the world we're going to the mana is so unused and concentrated that using excessive amounts of it is extremely poisonous. Like deadly.' She said that but nothing feels off. Of course it may not be worth testing if it really is suicide. I'll look into it once I can figure out a way out of-_ The thought was cut off when he felt Elspeth watching him. He swallowed nervously and walked back to Kallist. _Nevermind. Might as well help until this is done._ He sighed, "This is a serious waste of time. Why not just stay at the hotel?"

"We're too rambunctious to stay at the hotel," Chandra said, falling into step beside him.

Jace rolled his eyes, "We're not that-"

"The four of us that are least likely to get along are now teenagers Jace," Chandra reminded him.

"Oh." _Should that matter? I doubt we'd do anything but keep to ourselves like we always do anyway._ He continued to help unload the furniture and everything else.

"Here," Chandra held out a skateboard to Jace as he sat in a corner of the house.

"What is that?" Jace asked dully.

"It's a skateboard. Locke has requested that I give this to you because he wants someone to race," Chandra explained.

"Oh," Jace took it and leaned it against the wall next to him.

Chandra sat next to him, "We're going to have to go to school in August."

"August?" Jace glanced at her, "Why? What month is it anyway?"

"It's May. It's close enough to the end of the school year that there wouldn't be any school that would accept us."

"It's MAY?" Jace stared at her.

"Time flies here. Or did you not notice?" Chandra smiled, "The sun's already going down."

Jace glanced out the window in surprise, "It is. That's so fast though. The day isn't nearly this fast anywhere else."

"We'll still age as though we weren't on this world because it is so disconnected," Chandra got to her feet and looked out the window.

"What's the time difference here compared to everywhere else?" Jace asked.

"Well how long does it feel like it's been?"

"I don't know, maybe an hour at most," Jace shrugged.

"You're not far off but here it's been a two days. That's how big the time difference is."

Jace's eyes widened, "That's...that's a big difference."

Chandra nodded, "But we've only aged an hour and three minutes."

"We arrived around dawn two days ago," Jace noted.

Chandra nodded, "Yep. When's your birthday?"

"Huh?" Jace looked at her in surprise.

"Your birthday? When is it?"

"Uh..." Jace lowered his gaze, "I have no idea."

"Oh," she looked him over, "You were born in June."

"You're just making that up," Jace didn't look at her.

"Well, any school that we go to will want to know," Chandra shrugged, "Besides, that means that your birthday's coming up soon."

"Okay," Jace shrugged indifferently.

"June...19. How about that?" Chandra smiled. She sat back down.

"Okay," Jace shrugged again.

Chandra nodded, "Alright. Technically, though this isn't correct, you were born in 2001."

"2001?" Jace looked at her.

"It's how they count years. Don't ask me. I don't know," she shrugged, "Lilianna and I were born in 2000 and Ral in 1999. Technically. As far as matching our apparent ages to this world's time goes."

"Oh." He looked up at her, "What about the library?"

"It won't be open at this time of day," Chandra shrugged. She looked at him, "And no. We can't sneak into it."

Jace looked away from her, "I wasn't going to suggest that." He glanced at her, "Since when did you become interested in following the law?"

"The Black Lotus Assassins are law enforcement around here since this city does have so many magical creatures living as humans. I don't intend on facing Eclipse because I helped you break into a library."

"But you are-"

"That doesn't mean _anything_ ," Chandra shook her head, "If anything it'll be you that gets off easy."

"Can't you just-"

"No," Chandra shook her head, "Unfortunately, Star can get into my head easier than you can. I can't lie nor can I bend the truth in any way."

"And even without Star they'll know because you don't give a damn about the rules," Jace added.

Chandra nodded, "Yep." She stood up and turned to walk away. She paused and winked at him over her shoulder, "Not tonight at least."

Jace nodded, "Tomorrow morning I want to go to the library."

Chandra nodded, "Yeah, yeah. I'll take you to the library tomorrow. Chill."

"You say that like it's an easy thing to do," Jace muttered.

Chandra laughed. She shook her head, "Sleep."

"No."

"Yes."

"No. It's only been an hour," Jace insisted.

"You're going to have to get used to the time around here somehow. Just rest," Chandra shrugged.

"You're one to talk! I'm sitting on the floor. You're standing," Jace crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm heading to bed," Chandra shrugged, "You're the one sitting by the door brooding."

"I'm not brooding!"

"You are brooding," Chandra kneeled down in front of him, "Besides, if you don't align to this world's time you'll sleep for days. That's a lot of time."

"Not really-"

"I can assure you that whoever Bolas has hunting this treasure will be working to find it every time the sun shines," Chandra said seriously.

Jace's eyes widened, "Well..." He turned away from her.

"You've gotten worse at lying. Your face turns all red," Chandra chuckled.

"Shut up," Jace mumbled.

"At least try to rest," Chandra patted his head.

"HEY!" Jace glared at her.

"What? I'm essentially your big sister now. I'll pat your head if I want to. It's an encouraging gesture," she smirked and walked away.

Jace glared after her until she disappeared from his sight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry. By the way this story takes place on Earth. Just thought I should point that out.**

* * *

Jace glanced up as someone came down the stairs. "Man, I didn't sleep at all last night. I wasn't even tired. I'm starving," he recognized Ral by his voice. To avoid unwanted conversation he slid silently around the couches and sat behind a desk. Ral sat at the table with a box of cereal. Jace recognized Lucky Charms by the packaging. He rolled his eyes. Ral ate then stood up and stretched, "Hopefully we won't be stuck unloading another truck today."

 _Hopefully not._ Jace agreed silently.

"I wonder where Cat Ears went. He was down here last night. I wonder if he slept at all."

Jace slid further behind the desk. _I do not want to talk to you. I'm not going to talk to anyone. Chandra's going to take me to the library and I'm going to look into...everything._ He sighed quietly.

Ral shrugged, "Well, back to the computer and the internet I guess."

Jace rolled his eyes. _Ral's so...He's so into technology that he doesn't do anything else with his time really. I'd rather have books. At least they're actually there. And they aren't so bright. Of course I'm the only one that's really sensitive to bright but who cares._

"Jace!" Chandra's voice rang through the house. Jace crawled out from behind the desk and got to his feet before she got down the stairs.

"Cat Ears!" Ral squeaked in surprise.

Jace glanced at him, "What?"

"Cold as ever I see," Ral sighed and shook his head.

Jace rolled his eyes and looked expectantly up at Chandra.

"Hey, if Gideon or Elspeth ask I took Jace to the library," Chandra told Ral, "alright?"

Ral nodded, "Of course Beautiful."

"You're really going to have to stop calling me that," Chandra sighed.

"Why?"

"Because everyone's going to assume we're siblings," Jace said evenly, "and that's not something siblings usually do."

"Well that's what explanations are for," Ral shrugged.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She led the way out the door. Jace glanced at the skateboard but left it. _Not yet. I'll learn to use it before I take it anywhere._ He followed her down the street.

"What's with the scarf anyway? Isn't it hot?" Chandra glanced at him.

Jace shrugged, "It's not like you got anything with a hood."

"Well...not a big hood. Hoods around here aren't designed to hide the wearer's face," Chandra shrugged.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Oh well. Whatever."

Chandra walked into a department store.

"Why are we going in here?"

"Nothing really," she bought as much printer paper and ink as she could carry as well as a backpack to carry it in. Then she led the way out of the store.

"We're here!"

Jace looked around, "It's...a school."

Chandra nodded, "Yep. It's library is open for any student to use for academic purposes."

"But we're not-" Jace stopped when she handed him a card. He studied it, "What is this?"

"A student ID card as hijacked from another school," Chandra shrugged.

"So you're still-"

"Not in the middle of the night," Chandra smirked, "There's a difference."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

She walked up to the woman standing in front of the stylized steel gate, "Hello. Can we go into the library to work on a summer project we've been assigned?"

"School IDs?" the woman asked.

Chandra nodded. She turned to Jace and held out her hand. Jace glared at her, "Don't treat me like I'm five. I can give her the card myself."

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say."

The woman watched them in amusement. She verified their IDs and then let them through the gate. On the other side of the gate directly in front of them was the largest central building. To the left was a four story building that appeared to have multiple small rooms in it connected by hallways and stairs and not much else and a similar building sat to the left. There was a separate building with a single bridge walkway connecting it to the center building. Jace could see railings on either side of the walkway that were more than likely shoulder height on him.

"That was easy," Jace shrugged.

"Of course it was. She's seen me more than a few times. I've used the same school every time so whatever."

"But don't you look younger now?" Jace asked.

"Decreased apparent age is definitely not the weirdest thing this city's seen," Chandra shook her head.

"Really?"

"The city sits on top of a rift to another realm outside of this one. Usually only a couple of creatures from that realm can pass through every once in a while. But sometimes more than that comes through."

"The rift widens and then it's like all the alien invasion movies Ral was watching last night," Jace said.

Chandra nodded, "Yep." She glanced at Jace, "He was watching alien invasion movies last night?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah."

Her eyes narrowed, "He's dead when we get back." She led him through the halls of the largest building. Jace noticed that everyone was wearing a uniform of either black or white with the other color being the trim. The girls had sleeveless button up collared shirts under a sleeveless jacket. The jacket had a broad collar. They also wore pleated skirts that went down to exactly the center of their thighs with black tights underneath if. The shoes consisted of fancy flats. On their arms were sleeves that stopped at the wrist and the middle of their upper arms. The boys uniform consisted of shorts or pants, a short sleeved jacket that was otherwise the same as the girls' over a sleeveless collared shirt, and similar sleeves. The sleeves however only went from the wrists to just above the elbows and were loose in between the clasps that held them closed around the arm. They wore black fancy shoes. He glanced at Chandra in confusion, "Why are the sleeves separated from the shirt itself?"

"I have no idea," Chandra shrugged, "I heard that the first students of the school got to design the uniform and that's what they decided. It's been the uniform ever since."

Jace looked back at the students sitting in the classrooms. Most were unattentive or looked very bored. He noticed a math teacher made a mistake in a complicated calculus problem but remained silent. Many noticed the two of them walking by on their way to the library. They didn't seem surprised that there were strange people in the school but he could hear many whispering amongst themselves about their physical appearances. He caught a lot of comments on his ears and tail. He lowered his head, hiding more than half his face in the scarf that was wrapped loosely around his neck. "Can we hurry it up?" he asked Chandra impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah. It's not my fault the library's on the opposite side of the school as the front doors," Chandra rolled her eyes.

"Is it the building with that walkway connecting it?" Jace asked.

Chandra nodded, "Yep. That walkway is the only conventional entrance into the library."

"That means we have to go upstairs," Jace said. He glanced at her, "How far away are the stairs?"

"They're right around this corner," Chandra promised.

"How many stairs?" Jace asked.

Chandra sighed, "I have no idea."

Jace bit his lower lip, "Alright." _I'm probably annoying her so I'll shut up now._ He jumped as a ringing sound rang through the building.

"Ah damn," Chandra hissed.

"What?" Jace asked.

"The halls are going to get really crowded in a moment." Just as she finished speaking the students that had been sitting in the classrooms came pouring into the hallway. Suddenly Jace was very glad that the hallways were so wide.

"Hey Phoenix!" two blond haired boys wearing the school's uniforms ran up to her. They looked at her in surprise, "What happened?" one asked. He had blue eyes while his companion had purple.

 _Siblings. More than likely._ Jace assumed. He didn't have any access to his magic so he couldn't tell for sure. His eyes narrowed and he watched them carefully.

Chandra punched one in the gut and spin kicked the other into the nearby wall.

"Ow!" they said in unison.

She smiled warmly, "Michael. David."

"Hi," David said. He pulled himself off the ground.

"What was that for?" Michael asked.

"That was for Tina who can't get suspended again for beating some common sense into you two," Chandra shrugged.

"Oh," the two boys exchanged glances.

"Who's this?" David asked. He wrapped his arm around Jace shoulder.

Jace glared at him angrily.

David winked at him.

"That's Jace and if he kills you, you can't come crying to me," Chandra shrugged and turned around, "Besides. You two need to get to class."

"Oh yeah," Michael sighed, "C'mon David. See you guys around!"

"Bye Jace!" David waved and jogged after Michael.

"Who're they?" Jace asked.

"Lotus' cousins," Chandra said, "They live with her."

"So then Lotus' 'real' name is Tina," Jace concluded.

Chandra nodded, "Yep. She goes to this school as well." She continued to the library.

"Why is there a gate in front of the school?" Jace asked as he caught up to her.

"This school is a private school with the highest inhuman population in the city," Chandra explained.

"Oh," Jace nodded, "So even though this city is used to odd occurrences knowing that there are 'monsters' could still cause panic."

Chandra nodded, "It's also why the Black Lotus are basically the police force of this city. We can investigate anything and have the ability to successfully cover it up if it was something that the city wouldn't be able to handle, which isn't much but still."

"Okay," Jace nodded.

They got to the library and Chandra gave the librarian the printer paper and ink she'd bought.

"You bought it for the librarian?" Jace asked, "Why?"

"Because if I give her a replacement for the paper and ink I'm going to use I print off pretty much whatever I need."

"What are you printing?"

"The most up to date encyclopedias are all on the computer," Chandra explained, "but because the screen bugs you I'm printing the encyclopedias out."

"That's why you got so much paper and ink then?" Jace asked.

She nodded, "Also the encyclopedias will also just have information on everything the general populace of the country, or world, knows. It won't have anything about what we're looking for but it should give you plenty of information about the world in general."

"Okay what about what we are looking for?" Jace asked.

"One moment," Chandra walked up to the librarian. She gave Chandra a key and she walked back to Jace. Jace watched her curiously. She held up the key and walked over to what looked like a wall. She moved a piece of it and he saw a keyhole. His eyes widened, "There's a hidden part of the library?"

Chandra nodded, "Yes."

He followed her through the door that opened once she put in the key. It was relatively small when compared to the rest of the library. Chandra returned to the normal library, "I'll print of the encyclopedia."

Jace nodded distractedly. He didn't recognize any of the books he saw. He glanced over his shoulder. _I probably don't have time to read all of them. I doubt she's going to let me stay in here all day._ His stomach growled as if in protest to the idea. He hissed through gritted teeth, "Shut up."

"Jace," Chandra said after a few hours.

"What?" Jace asked.

"Let's go get something to eat and go home for today," Chandra suggested.

"Why?" Jace asked.

"Because I'm hungry. And I doubt Ral would've remembered to tell Elspeth or Gideon where we went," Chandra said.

Jace was about to tell her he wasn't hungry but his stomach growled insistently. He sighed, "Fine. What did you have in mind for lunch then?"

"I have no idea," Chandra shrugged. She helped him put the books away and handed him the backpack.

"Why do I have to carry this? You're the one that bought it," Jace snapped.

"It's now holding all of your encyclopedias that I was kind enough to print off for you," Chandra stated matter of factly.

Jace growled, "Fine." He grabbed the backpack and followed her out of the library. He quickly noticed the pointed ears and slender build that marked the woman as an elf. He looked at Chandra in surprise, "Elves are on this world too?"

"Only a very, small handful," Chandra explained, "Some sort of event cleared most of them from the world."

"What kind of event?"

"I don't know," Chandra shrugged, "I'm not a walking encyclopedia. That's you."

Jace glared at her, "Well sorry."

"Don't get pissy. I'm not angry."

Jace opened his mouth for a scathing retort but thought better of it. Instead he sighed, "Whatever. What are we having for lunch?"

"I have no idea. What do you want?"

"I don't know," Jace shrugged, "I don't know what kind of food this place has."

"Except what you've already had which amounts to a box of crackers," Chandra commented.

"Shut up. Crackers are good."

"Aren't they salty?"

"So?" Jace shrugged, "Lilianna made coffee. She makes good coffee."

"If I let her make coffee for me she'd poison me," Chandra snickered. She looked at him, "I'm not sure coffee helps with dehydration nor do I think it helps quench thirst at all."

Jace glared at her, "It does too. Maybe not dehydration but still."

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Alright. Whatever."

"What's for lunch?" Jace asked.

"Rabbit food."

"That sounds disgusting."

"Then what do you want. You're the picky eater."

"I don't know," Jace snapped. "What is there to eat?"

"I don't know," Chandra shrugged, "We'll go to the grocery store then and figure it out from there." She led the way down a side street and through an alleyway. She climbed up onto a rooftop and walked along the top of it.

"I doubt this is a conventional method of reaching the store," Jace muttered.

"So? It's a shortcut," Chandra smirked at him over her shoulder, "For people that can balance well anyway." She dropped onto a wide concrete fence and walked along it to it's end.

Jace followed her and dropped down. He had to scale a whole other fence and walk through a field of plants nearly as tall as he was.

Chandra cursed under her breath, "This was a hell of a lot easier with the couple inches I lost."

"You think you have it hard?" Jace snapped, "This freaking grass is nearly as big as I am!"

"Sorry," Chandra rolled her eyes. She continued forging a path through the field until they came out on the other side. They were standing on the back side of the store. "See," she smiled triumphantly.

"That was way too much work just to reach a bloody grocery store," Jace snapped crossly.

Chandra brushed the pollen out of his hair, "You're just made because you were introduced to plants that were bigger than you."

"I had to _walk_ through plants that were bigger than me," Jace growled. He glared at her, "And it'd be great if you could stop touching my head."

She stuck her tongue out at him and didn't respond. Instead she turned and crossed the parking lot to the store. She walked around the closest side wall of the building and to the front of it. Jace followed her silently. She led him into the store, "Now what do you want?"

Jace looked around in surprise, "That's a lot."

She shrugged, "We're living in a country that is notorious for oversizing everything."

Jace glanced at her, "Oh. Okay."

Ral looked up as the door opened. Jace and Chandra walked into the house. Jace had a backpack filled with something vaguely shaped like a giant book.

"There you two are," Lilianna stomped up to them with her hands on her hips, "We had to help unpack a whole new truck while you two went on your little vacation. Where were you?"

"The library," Chandra smirked, "I promised Jace yesterday that I'd take him in the morning."

Lilianna's eyes narrowed.

Jace easily slid away from the situation and flopped onto the largest couch that had been brought in that day. It had six cushions and was a dull beige color. It was made with an oddly almost fuzzy material that was itchy when it was rubbed the wrong way. He ran his hand down the armrest curiously, "That's...odd." He pulled his hand away quickly decided he didn't like it.

"Your breath stinks, Pyro-freak," Lilianna hissed.

"I'm sorry that I decided to have ice cream on the way home and _someone's_ been keeping me from brushing my teeth and washing my mouth out," Chandra snapped.

"That's enough you two," Elspeth ordered as she came down the stairs.

"I was just saying," Lilianna muttered. She gave Chandra a cold glare.

"You two argue like an old married couple," Ral giggled.

Jace glanced at where Kaious was sitting, crouched like a cat, on the armrest of the couch, "Why is it that I ended up being the youngest?"

Kaious shrugged, "I don't know. Did you have ice cream too?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah."

"Lucky," Kaious sighed, "I'm dying right now. It's so hot."

"Would you be able to eat ice cream though?" Jace asked curiously.

"I think so," Kaious cocked his head to the side, "I don't know for sure though."

"I don't know either," Jace shrugged. He took off the backpack and pulled the papers out of it before setting it on the ground, leaning against the couch. The papers were stapled together in alphabetical order. Each letter of the alphabet had a staple keeping the pages with topics that fell under that letter together. The letter s on the other hand had two stapled packets. Jace read through all of the packets before dawn of the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

Jace opened his eyes. A few days had passed and he was a little more accustomed to the time on the world though he was still disoriented by it's speed. He was tired more than he'd like but had decided to deal with it. He was curled up in the corner of the couch. He yawned and looked around. Ral was sitting on the couch munching on a bowl of pretzels. Jace growled, "My god you eat like a cow." He kicked Ral in the leg, "Get off my couch."

"It's not your couch," Ral responded.

Jace hissed, "It is when I'm sleeping on it! It is now that I'm going to continue sleeping on it!"

"It doesn't have your name on it, Cat Ears," Ral bit into another pretzel and chuckled at the shape it made.

Jace growled. He sat up and glared at Ral, "Are you even listening to me? It is my couch and I can write my name on it if that'll make you feel better!"

"It's not your couch. It's our couch. Anyone can sit on it."

Jace gritted his teeth, "Fine." He got to his feet and went looking for the permanent marker Elspeth had used to label the cubby systems the day before. He found it on a shelf of one of the kitchen cabinets he couldn't reach. He climbed onto the counter and grabbed it before jumping down. He returned to the couch. Ral was still eating his pretzels in the middle of the couch. _It's no wonder I was curled up so tightly. Jackass._ He glanced at the marker. _I shouldn't write my name on the couch. Elspeth will kill me._ He growled, "Get off my couch!"

"It doesn't have your name on it," Ral said. He bit into another pretzel and made a different shape than the last on Jace had seen him eat.

Jace hissed, "And if I put my name on it Elspeth will kill me!"

"Exactly," Ral nodded, "It can't be _your_ couch because it is _our_ couch."

Jace gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides, "Why don't you go eat pretzels in your room? Isn't your computer up there?"

"I was lonely," Ral whined dramatically.

Jace took a deep breath though it didn't help him calm down much. "Like I give a damn," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"But Cat Ears," Ral whined.

Jace ground his teeth together, "You're supposed to be _older_ than me! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm avoiding isolating myself and getting drawn into the internet."

"By bugging me? Go get lost in your damn computer!" Jace's voice rose as his anger started to boil over, "And get off _my_ couch! I don't care if you're lonely! Go piss off somebody else!"

"C'mon Cat Ears. At least let me finish eating."

"Go eat in your room!" Jace hissed.

"But Cat Ears-"

"Stop it! Get off my couch! Go get lost in your computer! And go eat in your room!" Jace insisted angrily.

"Cat Ears-"

"Who's yelling and why," Elspeth asked. Her voice was hard as stone and both boys could see her eyes reflecting the light of predawn that lit the room. Jace realized he had switched his glare over to her and lowered his gaze, "Ral woke me up."

" _You're_ the one that tried to shove me off _our_ couch and then got all bent out of shape about it," Ral snapped.

"You're the one that's woken me up three times sitting on _my_ couch, eating your damn pretzels like an obnoxious little-"

"That's enough," Elspeth said, "Jace, language."

"Which one? I don't see how my age affects what I can sa-yes Ma'am," Jace cut himself off when he met Elspeth's gaze.

"Ral," Elspeth turned her attention to him, "Two things. I have told you not to eat before dawn how many times now?"

Ral swallowed nervously, "Like ten."

"Exactly. That's enough. Also, if someone is asleep on the couch don't sit on it."

"But it's got six cushions on it! And he only takes up two at-yes Ma'am," Ral sighed once Elspeth's gaze hardened into a firm and intimidating glare.

Jace felt a triumphant smile forming on his face. It faded instantly once Elspeth fixed him with the same hard look. He glared at Ral and flipped over the back of the couch. He landed on the seats and curled back up, "Go away. I'm going to _try_ to get back to sleep after you so rudely woke me up."

"Jace, if you're not going to be polite about it I can very easily take back everything I told Ral," Elspeth warned, "As it isn't your couch."

"I'm sleeping on it," Jace muttered.

"Yes," Elspeth nodded. She leaned over him and her gaze hardened further, "but I'm allowing you to. I can very easily claim this couch for myself and make you sleep somewhere else." She looked up at Ral as he snickered, "And I can very easily take every bit of technology you have to your name away from you. Permanently."

Ral's eyes widened, "Yes Ma'am."

She sighed, "Ral go back to your room and at least try to sleep." She took the bowl of pretzels from him and dumped them back into the bag before putting the bowl in the sink and filling it with water. Ral watched sullenly.

Jace closed his eyes and pretended like nothing existed but the black he saw.

"So," Lilianna sighed. Elspeth had forced them to go outside in the afternoon. Jace had decided to finally get around to teaching himself to ride the skateboard Locke had insisted Chandra give to him. Lilianna had brought out an ice cream cone and had paused in eating it to talk, "I heard you two fighting with each other this morning."

"What does it matter?" Jace snapped.

"I was just saying."

"Yeah and you aren't my mom. Get over it," Jace shrugged.

Chandra burst out laughing, "Do you want ice for that Lili?"

"Shut up," Lilianna snapped angrily.

"Cat Ears, you seem to be in a really bad mood here lately," Ral pointed out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jace muttered.

Ral had a bag of cereal with him and was eating it periodically.

 _He never stops freaking eating. It's so annoying. Everything here is supplied. There's nothing really to work for. It's pointless and stupid. I hate it._ Jace crossed his arms over his chest and kicked up the skateboard, "I'm going to the library."

"You still have the card right?" Chandra asked.

Jace nodded. He grabbed the skateboard, deciding he didn't want to take the time to put it away and walked away. _I'm going to look into the other realm Chandra mentioned. See what that's all about._ He made it to the school a little while later and talked to the librarian about the key. He slid into the secret part of the library and skimmed through every book until he found what he was looking for. _Since Chandra didn't come with me this time I can shut myself in here for as long as I like._ He smirked, "Perfect."

"Didn't you say something about Shadow making pie?" Gideon asked Chandra as she helped him clean the kitchen.

"Yeah," Chandra sighed, "That night we spent at the Lotus Inn was supposed to end later with everyone getting a whole bunch of the sweet of their choice. That's why I looked into what you guys liked sweets wise. Shadow makes really awesome apple pie and an elf that lives on Ravnica was going to make a bunch of cherry sweets for Ral. I was going to buy everything else after dinner but...we ended up leaving early. Shadow was not pleased. Lock, Sea and Lotus ended up splitting the apple pie and the cherry sweets. All three of them got sick." _I still have to wear that dress abomination for Sea. Wait a minute._ Chandra grinned. _It wouldn't fit me anymore. YES!_ She sighed, "My parts done." She left the kitchen and flopped onto the couch.

"When is Jace coming back?" Lilianna asked.

"I've answered that seven times Zombie lover!" Chandra glared at her, "I don't know. I'd expect he won't be back for a while. He is in a library after all."

"Guys, stop arguing. Cat Ears will be back when he's back," Ral shrugged.

"I'm just starting to worry that's all," Lilianna snapped.

"He's not helpless," Chandra hissed.

"He's not strong either."

Ral sighed, "I tried."

"Shut it," Lilianna and Chandra snapped at him in unison.

Ral put his hands up in a sign of surrender, "Shutting up." He went up to his room and logged onto his computer.

Chandra got to her feet, "Well. I'm going to go talk to Echo."

"About what?"

"Getting around our mana problems," Chandra said simply.

Lilianna looked at her in surprise, "I thought you were just going to tell the rest of us to suck it up since you've been here before."

"Being able to use our magic may important. Especially since not everyone can fight physically and others don't like it," Chandra said.

"How considerate of you," Lilianna sneered.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "I could keep it all to myself you know."

"I'm sure all of us would rather you didn't," Lilianna snapped.

"You're the one that made the unwanted comment," Chandra shrugged, "Maybe if you weren't so self centered you'd know that you're the one at fault here."

"Are you going to go or not?" Lilianna hissed, "Quit bugging me. You're annoying."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going. Don't rush," Chandra smirked, "I'll go at my own pace."

Lilianna gritted her teeth, "Well if you're going to take your sweet time I'm going to waste no more of _my_ time with you." She got to her feet and stalked up the stairs.

Chandra sighed. She arrived at the Black Lotus Hotel a few minutes later, "ECHO!"

"Don't scream," Wyvern snapped, "You may be younger but that does _not_ mean you get to chose whether or not rules apply to you."

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Sorry."

"I think you have a bigger attitude now than you did as a kid," Shadow suppressed a laugh.

"You try living with those weirdos and not getting pissy," Chandra snapped.

Shadow laughed, "Echo's in her lab."

Chandra hissed, "Of course she is. That's seven flights of stairs and down a whole hallway!"

"It's always been. I don't see the problem Phoenix," Dragon said.

Chandra glared at him, "Really? It's a problem for me so shut it." She walked up the flights of stairs and down the hallway to Echo, "Echo!"

"What?" she snapped. She poked her head out of the door, "Oh hey Phoenix." She patted the redhead's head.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I was wondering..."

"What?" Echo asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Is there a way for us to be able to use magic here. Maybe not mana but magic in general."

"You'd be completely exhausted by the simplest of spells. It'd be like learning to use magic all over again without the natural talent you possessed to begin with. But yes. It would be possible and over time you would be able to use it. You'd just be more limited in what you can do and you'll never be as good with it as you are with mana," Echo said.

Chandra sighed, "Really?"

Echo nodded, "There's also things called magical emblems that can give you abilities similar to magic but they are even more limited. They're also much more difficult to control."

"An emblem? What does that mean?"

"It's basically something that would implanted into your arm and it would allow you manipulate fire with that one hand," Echo explained, "It would be very difficult to control and it would be very limited. You wouldn't be able to create fire. Just manipulate it."

Chandra cocked her head to the side, "That sounds like it could work. I'll think about it and pitch the idea to Elspeth. See what she says."

"Alright."

Chandra returned to find Jace back from the library and Ral was sitting at the table playing a card game with Lilianna. "Whatcha guys doing?" Chandra asked curiously.

"Playing a card game," Lilianna shrugged. She looked at her, "By the way Elspeth and Gideon are gone. They went with Kaechia to go do something about some school thing or whatever."

"They're enrolling us in school so we can start with the upcoming school year because Gideon found out it was required by law for kids to go to school until they're seventeen," Jace snapped harshly.

"What Cat Ears said," Ral shrugged.

"Which one?" Chandra asked.

"The private school Jace insisted on going to."

"Oh," Chandra nodded, "Not surprised. You two didn't argue?"

"We couldn't decide so we left it up to him," Ral explained.

"Alright," Chandra shrugged. She glanced at Jace. He had a medium sized book and appeared to be reading it. She walked over and read some of the left hand page over his shoulder. _Magic? The magic on this world huh?_

"What do you want?" Jace hissed, "Can you move?"

Chandra looked at him and then at Ral and Lilianna, "You've been like this all day." It was now late evening and growing dark outside.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Maybe because you're wasting time that is much better spent somewhere other than conversation."

Chandra stopped leaning over the couch and patted his head, "Come with me."

"Why?"

"I want to talk to you. Besides, I'll get you something."

He reluctantly set the book down and got to his feet. He followed her down the street to a nearby café. "What do you want?"

Chandra looked at the waiter, "Lemonade please."

The waiter nodded and looked at Jace who shook his head, "I don't want anything."

Chandra looked at him, "When was the last time you ate?"

"This morning."

"And you didn't have lunch and you haven't had dinner yet?"

"No. I don't see why that's such a problem," Jace shrugged.

"Maybe because you're in a younger body now than you used to be," Chandra shrugged. "And maybe, just maybe," her tone hardened significantly, "because you don't have the same limits here."

"Maybe I just don't feel like wasting time that's better spent elsewhere," Jace shrugged.

"If you were really worried about wasting time would you be sitting here watching me drink lemonade?" Chandra asked.

"It's not like you gave me a choice," Jace muttered, "You are wasting time."

Chandra looked at him, "There's more to it than that. I can tell. What is it?"

"We're here for a reason. We're trying to find a stupid treasure thing and I'm the _only_ one putting any effort into trying to find it."

"You were reading a book about the magic that _can_ be used on this world. That's not looking for a treasure."

"So? Two birds with one stone," Jace snapped, "I haven't found a book on the treasure yet."

"What's the real issue Jace. It's not just the fact that apparently the rest of us aren't doing anything about the treasure," Chandra insisted.

"That's it," Jace hissed, "They're getting closer and closer to it and we have nothing. We have absolutely nothing!"

"If that was all you were worried about you wouldn't have left the library. You wouldn't have been sitting on the couch when I got back."

"And if I had stayed in the library you would've dragged me out anyway," Jace snapped.

"You were back before I was."

"And maybe you're reading too much into this," Jace got to his feet, "See ya."

Chandra grabbed his arm, "There's more to it. I know that much."

"Let go," Jace hissed.

Chandra stood, grabbed her lemonade and dragged him out of the café. She didn't let go and led him through a field and stopped on the banks of a creek, "What is that?"

"A creek," Jace muttered.

"Ah-huh," Chandra nodded, "And what's in the creek?"

Jace gritted his teeth. _You. If I shoved you. But then I'd get wet too._ "A whole bunch of green stuff."

"And what's beyond the green stuff? It's algae by the way."

"I know that thank you. Pardon me for not using my full vocabulary," Jace snapped. He glared at her, "I don't know."

"Exactly."

"I don't see your point," Jace pulled out of her grasp and turned away from her, "I'm busy at the moment."

"Do you like algae? Is it pretty?" Chandra snapped.

"Not really," Jace shrugged, "But I don't care about algae."

"This conversation isn't about algae you difficult-" Chandra interrupted herself with a deep breath, "You're being a dick. You can't push yourself to the same limits here."

"I'm sleeping. What more do you want?" Jace snapped.

"You can't just sleep Jace. You're working yourself to the point of exhaustion and something about the entire situation, not just the treasure, is bugging you!"

"So now it's my fault all the rest of you are wasting your time goofing off?" Jace spun around to face her. His eyes burned angrily, "I'm not to blame for your lack of responsibi-"

"It's not responsibility you're exhibiting Jace. It's stupidity," Chandra's voice rose as her frustration shifted to anger, "You _can't_ push yourself so far anymore."

"Why not? Because you don't like it? Because-"

"I'm not doing this for me!" Chandra hissed, "What's the bigger problem here. I understand that you don't want Bolas getting his hands on the treasure but there's something deeper. We wouldn't be having this conversation if there wasn't."

"There's nothing else!" Jace insisted angrily.

Chandra grabbed him by his scarf and pulled him closer to her. She glared down at him. He was shorter than her by a few inches.

Jace's eyes flew wide open and for half a moment he felt fear send chills down his spine. He pushed it away and hid it under a defiant angry glare.

"What's the bigger problem here?" Chandra hissed. Her voice was dangerously low.

Jace grabbed her wrist and pulled himself out of her grasp, "There isn't one." He turned and darted away.

Chandra gritted her teeth and turned back to the creek. She took a deep breath but it didn't help, "Well...this is falling apart extremely quickly."


	4. Chapter 4

Jace threw open the door and let it slam behind him. He ignored Ral and Lilianna and stalked up the stairs.

Lilianna looked at Jace and then at Ral, "Um..."

"I'm going to go find Beautiful," Ral got to his feet.

Lilianna nodded and followed Jace up the stairs.

Ral found her sitting by a creek throwing rocks into large patches of algae, "Beautiful."

"What?" Chandra asked. Her voice was even but emotionless.

Ral's eyes widened, "Well...Jace doesn't seem to be in a good mood."

"I'm not surprised," Chandra shrugged.

"You should probably come home before Elspeth and Gideon get back."

"They still aren't back?"

"They said they were getting dinner," Ral explained.

"Oh," Chandra got to her feet. She followed Ral silently back to the house they were living in.

Lilianna was standing in front of the door with her hands on her hips and a harsh look on her face. The minute Chandra walked in she stalked up to her. "You scared the hell out of him," her tone matched her face.

"Oh really?" Chandra hissed, "I'm sorry I'm human."

"That doesn't give you the right to scare him!"

"Oh so now you're on his side?!" Chandra snarled.

"You know why something like what you did would scare him! You shouldn't have done it!"

"Oh so he told you that did he?" Chandra rolled her eyes, "Good for you."

"He just told me you knew," Lilianna snapped.

"Well I'm sorry but last I checked you didn't give a damn what happened to him!"

"Just because I remained distant doesn't mean I didn't care!" Lilianna hissed. Her eyes narrowed, "You said so yourself. We're essentially siblings and we have to look for out each other."

"I don't see you so keen to defend me or Ral!"

"Don't drag me into this!" Ral's protest was ignored.

"You're always looking out for you and Ral. Someone has to look out for Jace!" Lilianna snarled.

Ral glanced from Chandra to Lilianna and back again. _This is getting out of hand. Elspeth and Gidoen aren't here. Oh boy._

"Well sorry but in case you hadn't noticed _none of us_ are very good at controlling our tempers anymore!" Chandra's voice rose to an angered yell.

"You were never good at it to begin with!" Lilianna's voice rose as well.

"Guys," Ral said uncertainly.

"Sorry I'm a stereotypical fire mage, Zombie-lover!"

"We always have to take your anger because you just can't keep it to yourself can you? You're a hypocrite!"

"I'm sorry that you can't handle it and so are you so I don't wanna hear it!"

"GUYS!" Ral rose his voice to be heard over the two of them. Both of them glared at him. He swallowed nervously but his gaze remained steady, "As eldest of us four and because Elspeth and Gideon are gone it's my job to make sure we get along and the house doesn't burn down. How about we all take some time to calm down and return to this when everyone's a little more level headed."

Chandra growled. She turned and stalked out of the house, letting the door slam shut behind her. Lilianna glared after her and darted up the stairs.

Ral took a deep breath and flopped onto the couch, "That was terrifying! I can't believe I actually did that!" He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He noticed Kallist standing in the hallway. Even though he couldn't use mana to read people's emotions he was still very good at sensing how other people felt. He looked startled and impressed. Ral sighed. He got to his feet, "Kallist I need ten dollars."

"Why?"

"Because I need to go get something for Jace. Help him feel better. If Elspeth and Gideon come back will you fill them in?" Ral asked.

Kallist sighed, "Alright." He handed Ral a ten dollar bill and sat on the couch.

Elspeth Gideon and Kaechia walked in. Elspeth's eyes narrowed in concern instantly, "The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife." She looked at Kallist, "What happened?"

"I don't know the exact details," Kallist shrugged. He filled them in on what he knew.

Chandra stalked into the Black Lotus Hotel, "Shadow, I'm sleeping here tonight."

"Why? What's wrong?" Shadow was instantly worried.

"I'll tell you later," Chandra promised. She sighed, "After I get some sleep." She hurried up the stairs into an empty room and flopped onto the bed, "That fell apart extremely fast." _Maybe I should've just left him to read that book. But there is something deeper. I know that for certain. I can guess what it is but that could be completely inaccurate._ She sighed, "Whatever. I need to sleep." _Besides. I still...never mind. I don't need her permission. I'll do it anyway._ She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Chandra blinked open her eyes to bright sunlight coming in through the window. She yawned and sat up. She got to her feet, dryly realizing that she hadn't bothered to change into any pajamas before falling asleep. She left the room.

"What happened last night?" Shadow asked.

Chandra explained what had happened, "Anyway, I have to talk to Echo."

"Alright," Shadow nodded.

Chandra hurried to Echo's room/laboratory. She knocked on the door.

"Huh?"

 _I swear she doesn't sleep._ "It's Phoenix."

"Alright."

She opened the door and walked into the room. The lights were on and the room was filled with technology with very little room for anything else. "Hey I wanted to talk to you about getting an emblem."

Echo raised an eyebrow, "Of course you do. It would be a relatively simple procedure. It would be placed in your arm and you can only do one. It would extend to cover your entire arm from the shoulder to your fingertips when it was in use and retract again when it wasn't."

"Will that hurt?"

"No," Echo shook her head, "No it won't. You won't be able to feel it."

"Oh," Chandra nodded, "Alright. And I'll be able to manipulate fire in any way I choose?"

"Yes but only manipulate it and only around that one arm. You can't use both arms to manipulate the fire and that arm has to be in contact with the flames."

"Okay."

Echo looked her over, "You still want to do this?"

Chandra nodded, "Yes."

Echo sighed, "Alright. Two days okay? That'll give me the time to get the emblem."

Chandra nodded, "Two days. I'll hold you to that." She wandered into the main hall of the hotel, "Hey Shadow, mind if I wash dishes?"

"You really don't wanna go home do you?"

"Not particularly. Would you after that?"

"No." Shadow shook her head, "You can do dishes then. Just don't break anything."

Chandra smiled, "Of course not."

Lilianna sighed, "Jace's been gone since this morning."

"He's fine," Ral insisted, "He's perfectly able to protect himself and he obviously just wants to be left alone."

"Yeah," Lilianna felt anger boil up inside her again when she thought of Chandra, "She's so...ugh."

"I don't think there's any point in dwelling on the past Princess," Ral said sullenly, "Besides. Beautiful is obviously keeping her distance too."

"I'm glad," Lilianna snapped, "Anyway, I'm hungry. Do you want anything?"

"Not really," Ral shook his head.

She walked out of the room and disappeared down the stairs.

"It's so quiet now," Ral whispered. _It's like the only reason none of us get along is because of Beautiful and Cat Ears. It's ghostlike without them._ He sighed, "They'll get lonely and come back eventually."

Chandra returned four days later.

"Beautiful!" Ral smiled.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Nothing really. It's been quiet. You and Cat Ears haven't been here since...yeah," Ral shrugged.

Lilianna turned her back on Chandra and started to walk away.

Chandra grabbed her arm and turned her around, "Sorry, Lili. Where's Jace? I wanted to apologize to him too."

Lilianna sighed, "He's in the library last I knew. He might have run off though."

Chandra nodded, "Thanks." She grabbed a box of crackers before heading towards the door. She smirked, "I've got plans so you two better be home when Jace and I come back."

Ral looked at her curiously but before he could ask her anything the door slammed shut as she left.

Chandra darted down an alley and along three rooftops. She dropped down and followed a fence along the creek. She stopped and scaled the fence. She dropped down on the other side, darted out of the alley and across the street.

"Hello," the woman in front of the gate smiled in warm welcome.

"Hey," Chandra smiled. She showed her the ID card, "Is-"

"He's here. He hasn't left in four days but he's here," she nodded.

"Alright. Thanks." Chandra darted through the gate and the school. The students were out for summer now so it was eerily quiet.

"Jace!" Jace looked up at the sound of his name. Standing in the doorway, smirking at him, was Chandra. He rolled his eyes and looked away from her, "I'm busy."

"And you're tired and hungry."

"No I'm not," Jace's stomach contradicted him instantly with a loud growl. He gritted his teeth, "I'll eat later."

"C'mon. I got money yesterday and I want to spend it!" Chandra whined.

"I don't care," Jace muttered, "I don't want to talk to you. Go away."

"You're still pissy huh?" Chandra sighed. "Look, think of this as my apology. I will buy you two things that you want."

"You can't bribe me with-"

"Even with apple pie? Gourmet gooey apple pie?"

Jace's eyes widened and it was a moment before he responded through gritted teeth, "No. Go away."

Chandra burst out laughing, "I'm sorry for scaring you. Friends?"

"No. Go away! You can't bribe me into forgiving you," Jace snapped.

"Alright. Alright. I'm not bribing you anymore. I'm really sorry," Chandra forced her voice to be serious though she was somewhat lying about not bribing him. "I'll try my best not to scare you again alright? I honestly can't make promises because I'm fifteen now. Keeping a lid on my temper is more difficult than it used to be." She rolled her eyes, "Look, I'm sure you get that part. I'm sorry."

"Fine. Apology accepted. Leave me alone," Jace growled.

"I have plans for today and you are not skipping out on them just so you can read."

"I'm looking for the stupid-"

"You're looking for a way around the mana problem which I can tell you about if you come along."

Jace stared at her, "You-"

"More like Echo. I'll tell you more but only if you come along so I can tell Ral and Lili too," Chandra said evenly.

"Just bring them here," Jace snapped.

"They want ice cream and I promised them ice cream when I got back with you," Chandra said, "So they're back at the house."

"Fine," Jace got to his feet and followed her out of the library. He was slightly unsteady on his feet and lightheaded.

"This is what I meant when I said you didn't have the same limits as before," Chandra said. She handed him the box of crackers.

He took the crackers and ate quite a few, "Shut up."

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Alright." She led the way back to the house, "Okay."

"So you actually succeeded," Lilianna gritted her teeth and handed Ral a five dollar bill.

"You made a bet?" Jace asked.

"I didn't think she'd actually be able to convince you to leave the library," Lilianna admitted.

"Anyway, let's go," Chandra pulled Ral and then Lilianna to their feet, "I have something really important to talk to you guys about."

"You promised me apple pie," Jace said.

"You said-"

"You promised," Jace insisted.

Chandra sighed, "Fine. Fine. Anybody else want something?"

"Ice cream!" Ral said instantly.

"I want iced tea," Lilianna said.

Chandra nodded, "So we'll stop by the store on the way." _At least Eclipse really did pay me yesterday._


	5. Chapter 5

"Apparently we can learn to use magic here but it'll be a hell of a lot harder," Chandra said, "We'd have to draw from ourselves which is just as potentially dangerous."

"According to the book," Jace started. All of them knew exactly which book he was talking about. He'd been reading it for the past few days. "The energy we use up by using magic would be replenished every time we slept and with everything we eat."

"Well that's incredibly convenient," Lilianna muttered. Her eyes narrowed, "Maybe too easy."

"Maybe," Chandra shrugged, "But I doubt it'll be as easy as it sounds."

"It's hard," Jace muttered.

"You've already tried it?" Lilianna stared at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Why else would Cat Ears sleep anywhere that wasn't familiar to him?" Ral asked.

"Let's go home then. I'm not sure I'm going to try it," Lilianna shook her head, "Drawing energy from ourselves is incredibly risky when we're used to an external energy source."

Chandra shrugged. _I already have a way around that but I doubt they'd agree to that. Especially Jace. He'll just put the work into learning a completely new form of using magic._

Jace was studying her curiously but followed Ral and Lilianna back to the house.

Chandra wandered the city without a real purpose. She watched people go about their daily business with dull disinterest. What they did didn't really have anything to do with her. She was hungry but didn't know what she wanted to eat. She knew what she didn't want to eat which wasn't exactly helpful. She didn't want to eat with Lilianna or Ral. Jace didn't eat much anyway so it didn't really matter. She sighed in frustration, "This sucks!"

"What sucks?"

Chandra whirled around and saw a somewhat familiar face that she didn't think she'd be seeing at all, "Nissa?"

"What?" The elf looked at her curiously suddenly, "How do you know my name?"

"Well...uh," Chandra sighed, "It's complicated. How'd you get here?"

"I ended up here when Zendikar was destroyed," Nissa shrugged. Chandra could tell she was deeply troubled and pained by the loss of the world but was trying to cover it up behind indifference, "Well...uh-Wait. Zendikar was destroyed?!"

"Yes," she sighed, "That is what I said isn't it?"

 _She sounds completely defeated._ Chandra rolled her eyes, "So much for lunch. Well for now anyway." She grabbed Nissa's arm and led her back to the house they were staying at. She explained what she knew of the elf's situation to her companions and they agreed that she could stay with them if she wanted.

"Since I have nowhere else to go," Nissa sighed.

"Yay!" Chandra sighed, "Now I need lunch."

"You haven't eaten yet, Beautiful?"

"No," Chandra glared at him, "In case you hadn't noticed I was helping Nissa."

"You were out for a lot longer period of time than just helping Nissa would imply," Jace muttered, "so everyone's more than likely surprised that you didn't eat before you ran into her."

She glanced at him, "Thank you for that very eloquent and unnecessarily wordy explanation."

"Anytime," Jace said sarcastically.

"It's your birthday!" Ral grinned as he bounced the cushions on the couch in an effort to wake Jace up. Time has passed quickly though the planeswalkers had managed to better adjust to the time difference. The weeks has passed uneventfully. Uneventful was becoming the norm for everyday that passed as everyone settled in better.

Jace kicked at him, "Leave me alone! It's not important!"

"Never!" Ral took the giant stuffed tiger that was sitting on the floor and dropped it on Jace, "It is important."

"No it's not. Besides. It might not even be my real birthday. I wouldn't know," Jace growled. He pulled the blanket over his head and tried his best to ignore Ral.

"So? We decided that today is your birthday so we're going to celebrate it today," Ral insisted.

"You just want an excuse to celebrate," Jace muttered. He uncovered his head and glared at Ral, "If it's my birthday then let me sleep and leave me alone for the rest of the day! I don't care what you do but I'm going to do what I want."

"You spend everyday doing that though," Ral whined.

"Leave him alone," Lilianna insisted, "It's not just him you're annoying. Shut it."

"C'mon Princess, it's not really-"

"Didn't she say shut up?" Jace snapped. He sat up and looked around, "Is Chandra here? She's been out a lot lately."

"Are you worried?" Ral mocked.

"No. I'm curious," Jace snapped. He glared at the now older lightning mage, "She's been out almost constantly since Nissa arrived and started living with us." The elf was distant and not of much help. She had been here longer and was already adjusted to the time difference and the lack of mana. She spent a lot of her time alone thinking. Jace could never tell what she was thinking beyond vague impressions which irritated him.

Chandra walked in a few hours later, "Hey guys. What's up?"

"Nothing much Beautiful. It's Cat Ears' birthday today."

"Happy birthday," Chandra tossed a small box at him.

Jace caught it but fell backwards off the couch in doing so. He glared at her but said nothing. Curiosity demanded he open the box but he set it aside in favor of talking to her, "Where'd you go?"

"Out."

"I think he's wanting a more specific answer," Jace could tell that Lilianna's respect was incredibly sarcastic in nature.

"I went out," Chandra shrugged, "Obviously I got him something for his birthday."

"But you've been out a lot since Nissa showed up," Jace pointed out. _Why is she dodging around the questions we're asking her? Can it be that she doesn't like this place anymore than I do? If she's looking for the pieces of the treasure on her own then...wait. Why is she doing it on her own if she's constantly trying to get the rest of us to rely on each other?_ His eyes narrowed. _Okay._ "I'm going to the library," he got to his feet, grabbed the box and left. He opened the box on his way down the street and looked at what was inside. It was a long silver chain with a small sapphire pendant. The pendant was a stylized flower shape but he couldn't identify what kind of flower.

 _"This," Eclipse held up a long silver chain with a sapphire flower pendant, "holds what power he cannot without going insane. If you truly are going to take on_ _ **both**_ _elder dragons then he is going to need this power."_

 _"Why would he go insane with this power?" Phoenix asked curiously._

 _"Because it's been separated from him for more loops than I have cared to count," Eclipse explained patiently. He set the necklace down and shoved it across the desk in her direction, "You know of Espers correct?"_

 _"Yeah," Phoenix nodded. Her eyes suddenly widened, "He's Orriyon's original isn't he?!"_

 _"Sort of. She was created from him and Vadanya," Eclipse said, "He_ _ **is**_ _however Lucy's original."_

 _"But that means that his spark was split into three pieces," Phoenix stared at the vampire in shock, "Can a planeswalker really survive that?"_

 _"I didn't think so but apparently he had the power to spare."_

 _Phoenix took the pendant and studied it. The gemstone glowed with an inner light. The light itself was a lighter shade of blue than the gemstone that gave it off. "Orriyon was telekinetic wasn't she? And she could see the future?"_

 _"The ability to see the future is an ability Ugin granted to her," Eclipse said. He sat down in the chair across from the redhead, "Before Orriyon's and Lucy's creation the mind mage wasn't just able to play with other's minds. He was telekinetic. The two of you were almost essential to each side's victory. I would not be surprised if you had an esper or two as well. I do not know for certain but you are less powerful now than you were when you worked under Bolas and when you first switched sides. I would assume that you could regain that power from being in contact with whatever stores it. Give the necklace to Jace. He's going to need that power. I will warn you though. Keep an eye on him. If something causes great emotional stress the power might return to him all at once, basically replicating a spark ignition."_

 _"But how? He's going to be suspicious if-"_

 _"His 'birthday's' in a few weeks correct?" Eclipse interrupted her._

 _"Well...yeah."_

 _"Then there you go."_

Chandra stared at the ceiling unhappily, "And what if I do? That'd be kind of creepy honestly." She sighed and got up, "I'm going out."

"Where to?"

"I promised Shadow I'd help her at the hotel," Chandra closed the door behind her. _I kind of understand Jace's frustration at those two though. And everyone else even. They aren't doing anything. Bet me Ral and Lilianna could live here indefinitely if they had to or if the had the option to. This world is so much easier than anywhere else in the multiverse. Lilianna could have everyone wrapped around her finger in half a second and Ral has access to all the technology he could want plus much, much more._ She smirked, "But there's more to them than just their desires." _Though I only trust Lilianna as far as I can throw her I won't deny that she is helpful. For as long as she needs us of course. And maybe afterwards to keep up the face._ Chandra wandered into the hotel. She went up to Echo's lab and looked around, "Hey can I look into something really quick?"

"What do you need?" Echo asked. She looked her over, "Other than a nap. You can't yell at Jace for pushing his limits and then push yours even farther."

"I have been trying to sleep at least. I just can't seem to be able to do it," Chandra shrugged.

"Alright. Alright," Echo sighed, "What do you need?"

"Do you know what an Esper is?"

"It's a partial being created from a planeswalkers spark."

"Okay," Chandra nodded, "And do you have a way of tracing an Esper's abilities back to their original spark?"

"Not yet," Echo shook her head, "I haven't seen the need to."

 _Of course not. The only Esper she ever interacted with was Orriyon._ "Okay. Can you locate whatever item holds the extra power that the Esper has?"

"Yeah," Echo nodded.

"Alright, then can you find every one you can and let me know?"

"Sure but...why the sudden interest?"

"Nothing," Chandra shook her head, "I just figured out that Orriyon was an Esper and I want to see something."

"Alright," Echo didn't sound like she believed her but Chandra didn't care. She hurried out of the hotel and back to the house that they all shared, "Jace's still gone?"

"It's his birthday and he isn't doing anything to celebrate!" Ral whined dramatically.

Chandra sighed, "He's never celebrated his birthday before. Why should he start now?"

Ral sat up, "Beautiful, what's wrong?" He studied her carefully.

"You're sour attitude is coming through loud and clear," Lilianna added before she could answer.

"I'm tired," Chandra said. _It's not entirely a lie. I am tired._ "We should hurry up though."

"You're starting to sound like Cat Ears," Ral noted.

Chandra smirked, "I just don't like not being able to burn you guys alive. It's not nearly as entertaining to just scream at you and hit you."

"That's cold!" Ral whined.

Lilianna remained silent and studied her. _Great. Don't tell me she's starting to doubt herself. It's not like she had to come all the way out to this world just because the rest of us were. She doesn't think like that._ Her eyes narrowed, "Does she?"

"What?" Ral looked at her.

"Nothing, dummy," Lilianna snapped.

"That's harsh Princess," Ral sighed, "I feel like I'm just here to be here and not being of any help."

"You aren't of any help but that's not necessarily your fault," Lilianna shrugged.

Ral looked at her, "You're just mean today."

"Sorry," Lilianna got to her feet and walked through the kitchen and up the stairs. There were four bedrooms on the top floor and two on ground level. She found Chandra in the room the two of them shared, "You aren't here just because the rest of us want to be are you?"

"No," Chandra shook her head.

"Then what's wrong with you?"

"I'm just tired. And none of us have the ability to use our mana as a 'back up energy source'. We're all still getting used to it."

"I would've expected you to be used to it by now," Lilianna sneered mockingly.

"Well sorry but I've never spent any sort of extended period of time here," Chandra snapped.

"Sorry," Lilianna leaned against the doorway and shrugged indifferently, "It's not like it's my fault that you're in a bad mood."

"You aren't helping either," Chandra smirked. _At least I feel a little better picking on them._ "O great Queen of Diamonds."

"Shut up, Bitch of Hearts," Lilianna snapped.

"Make me, Demon Queen."

"At least I'm still a queen," Lilianna lifted her nose into the air and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, of the sewage," Chandra snickered.

Lilianna glared at her, "It's better to be queen of sewage than not a queen at all."

"But I'm an angel," Chandra smirked. _Ah, I feel better already. Of course you can't have a defective pawn now can you, Lilianna?_ She grinned, "See ya."

"What-Hey!" Lilianna whirled around as the redhead darted past her.

"I don't have anymore time to waste on you. We are here for a reason after all." Chandra winked and darted down the stairs. She slowed to a walk as she left the house.


	6. Chapter 6

"It's the first day of school! It's the first day of school!" Ral skipped around the couch chanting excitedly.

"It doesn't start for another four hours!" Jace snapped irritably. He glared at Ral, "So shut up!"

"It's the first day of school though, Cat Ears" Ral refused to be crushed.

"It is not. The first day of _school_ is tomorrow," Jace growled. _No matter how many times I try to explain this it's not going to make any difference._ "Today is just the day that everyone gets roommates since the dorms finished construction late in the previous school year. They were done too late in the year for the students to have a dorm room. This is the first year any of the students will have dorms."

"So?" Ral sighed, "You're always trying to crush my excitement Cat Ears."

"It's not like your excitement makes any sense. It's not technically the first day of school," Jace muttered.

"It is too!"

"It is not," Jace snapped. He threw a stuffed animal at Ral's face, "Shut up. It's three in the morning and if you wake Lilianna, Chandra, or Elspeth then the two of us are more than dead meat." He pulled the blanket over his head and muttered, "And I don't know about you but I don't want to face that." _Especially when it was just you being an idiot. Maybe I'm being too harsh. I mean Ral's always been annoying. It just bugs me more now. Oh well. He shouldn't be so annoying if he doesn't want to be told to shut up._

"You're probably right," Ral sighed, "BUT I CAN'T SLEEP!"

"Shut up!" Jace hissed. _Don't wake them up you moron! Or did you not hear me the first time?_ "It's three in the morning you idiot! Don't wake them up! I don't plan on dying because of you."

"Sorry Cat Ears," Ral sighed and leaned against the back of the couch, "You know something?"

"What?" Jace rolled his eyes. _It's so damn hard to ignore him now. He just grates on my last nerve._

"You seem really afraid of the three of them."

"I am not afraid of them," Jace snapped, "I just don't plan on dying because you decided you wanted to be loud at three in the morning."

"Isn't that the same thing though?" Ral asked.

Kaious glanced at Jace, "I've pointed this out to you before you know."

"I'm not afraid of them! Why would I be?"

"Maybe because Beautiful could burn you alive. Princess could rot the flesh off your bones and Elspeth's just terrifying," Ral shrugged, "You know. Maybe because they're scary."

"Just because you're afraid of them doesn't mean that I-"

"Would you two _shut up_!" Lilianna hissed angrily from the top of the stairs.

Jace cringed and shrank into the couch.

"Are you sure you're not afraid of them?" Ral whispered.

"Yes," Jace snapped quietly, "Now go away." He rolled over so his back was facing Ral and closed his eyes.

Lilianna sighed, "Geez." _Those two are always arguing. At least Pyro and I are competent enough to keep quiet. Of course that's mostly Ral's doing. He is just plain annoying. Ugh, why does this group of numbskulls have to be so easily distracted? I mean seriously? Is it really that hard to find a treasure that's been collecting power for millennia? Of course it is because otherwise Bolas would've found it by now. He did spend almost this entire loop distracting us from what he was really doing. But why would he need it? It's just destructive isn't it?_ Lilianna rolled her eyes, "This is irritating." She went back into the room she shared with Chandra. The redhead wasn't there, insisting she wanted to look into something and wouldn't be back until just before orientation started. _I hate to admit but she's probably the most reliable of the group here. Even though she is so damn annoying. She's so good at reading people that it's frustrating. She can turn even the most self centered person into a warrior of light._ "I mean look at the company I hold. I'm allied with them. Never thought that'd happen," Lilianna sighed, "but the last loop proved just how incapable I am. I can't take on the multiverse on my own. Not yet."

Lilianna opened her eyes and looked around. An alarm was going off. She sighed and shut it off, "Redhead. Get up." She didn't bother being gentle in waking Chandra up.

"Would you stop?! What do you-"

"Orientation," Lilianna interrupted her irritated questions.

"Ah, dammit," Chandra sat up and yawned, "That's right." She growled.

"GUYS!" Ral yelled up the stairs.

"Be quiet you idiot," Jace snapped.

Chandra snickered, "Those two still don't get along well." She got to her feet and walked down the stairs. "If Elspeth wakes up to you two screaming at each other again you'll probably be cleaning the entire house."

"That's not fair," Jace muttered, "He's the one that's being loud."

"And by telling him to shut up so are you," Lilianna said.

The four of them walked to the gate of the school.

"Well, hello again," the guard said to Jace and Chandra.

"Hey," Chandra sighed, "We're going to school here now."

"Ah, siblings?"

"Basically," Lilianna muttered.

"Alright. Welcome." The gates squealed as they opened.

"Alright so normally," the principal stood on a raised podium in the center of the courtyard, "only the freshman would be at this orientation but since this is the first year with actually dorms for the students to live in everyone is here. So the girls will be in that one," he pointed to the building to the right, "and the boys will be in that one. Each building will be monitored by a security guard and the teachers of the same gender."

"Great," Jace muttered. _I hope there's an odd number and I'm the last one. That way I'd get my own room._

"Girls over there. Boys over there," the principal jumped down from the platform and walked down the center of the gathered students to the back where the rest of the administrative staff watched.

"See you guys," Chandra got to her feet. Lilianna followed her away silently.

Jace sighed, "This is miserable. I wanna go back to Ravnica."

"C'mon Cat Ears. It's not that bad," Ral gently shoved Jace in the direction they were supposed to be going. Jace stumbled and glared at him over his shoulder, "Could you not? That'd be great."

"That was harsh," Jace whirled around and stumbled backwards into Ral in surprise. Someone much taller than him looked down at him in amusement. Before he had backed up they had been close enough that their shoes had almost touched his. Jace hissed angrily, "Don't do that."

"Sorry about that. I'm Onyx." The boy's tanned skin was almost a bronze color in the sunlight and Jace didn't even come up to his shoulder. He glanced at Ral, "He appears to be easily startled."

"Actually that would be the first time I've seen anyone but Beau-Chandra sneak up on him like that," Ral snickered. Jace could tell from his expression that he would never forget that it had happened. He gritted his teeth, "Whatever." He stalked away. _This is stupid. Just because he scared me doesn't mean it was something that can be held against me. I hate Ral._ Jace knew that he didn't actually hate Ral and would blame himself if anything happened to him. Jace slipped easily through the crowd in an effort to find a place where he could see. Everyone was at least a little taller than him. _I'm the shortest one here huh? That's definitely not a disadvantage._

"Hey, kid watch it."

Jace turned. His eyes met that of an angry glare from the speakers deep brown eyes. He rolled his eyes, "I'll go where I want. It's not like I hit you."

"I can beat it into you if you aren't going to treat your upperclassmen-"

"Upperclassmen that are totally enraptured in their own believed authority are not deserving of the respect they demand."

"What?" he instantly looked confused.

 _As I thought. He's only got his physical strength to rely on._ Jace smirked, "Nothing. If you can't understand that then there's no point in me talking to you at all." He slid quickly away to avoid the anger that his comment would more than likely arouse. _Why the hell is it so crowded anyway?_ He sighed.

"Can you see?"

Jace gritted his teeth and looked to his right. A young boy closer to his age and height was standing up on his toes next to him.

"It's easier to just listen. A lot of the students here aren't human so they're large compared to the rest of us," he shrugged at Jace.

"Hmm," Jace shrugged. He looked around. He couldn't tell anyone of them from any of the others very well. He couldn't identify who was human and who wasn't just by appearance.

"Hey! Whisper!" Onyx pushed his way to them. He carved a path for Ral and someone else that Jace couldn't quite see behind them.

"Onyx," Whisper waited patiently for his friend.

Jace rolled his eyes. _Why the hell do these people keep popping up? I don't want to talk to any of you. Go away. Or at least let me get away._

"Are you guys hungry?" the other kid asked.

Jace stared at him. He was tall but relatively thin. He looked rather fit but appeared tiny next to Onyx. Of course Onyx seemed to make everyone around them look tiny.

"Onyx is part of the football team," Ral said.

"Cool," Jace muttered sarcastically. _Why the hell does he have blue hair. I've only ever seen one other person with blue hair and that was Echo._ He sighed, "Great. Just brilliant."

"Alright, alright. I know you're all excitedly waiting to see who your roommates will be," Jace assumed the voice belonged to a teacher but the tone didn't convince him his assumption was accurate. Whoever they were they sounded like a kid that thought everyone around them was their friend.

"I'm Erin," the kid whispered. He handed Jace a plastic package.

Jace stared at it, "What is this?" The packaging was mostly white. It had a grassy hill design in the bottom right part. A purple sign had "Blueberry Muffins" written on it. The label was blue and said Little Bites. Jace looked at him incredulously, "What are these?"

"A snack," Erin shrugged, "I have other stuff if you don't want it."

Jace stared at him, "How much food do you need?"

"Well I always have snacks just in case if I get hungry and I have snacks for all my friends too," Erin said.

Jace handed it back to him, "Sorry but I have interest in being your friend."

"But-"

"Quiet." Onyx hissed.

"Sorry," Erin sighed. He put the snack back in his backpack.

"He'll come around," Jace heard Ral whisper. He gritted his teeth. _We're not here to make friends._ He could feel the book detailing spells for all forms of magic in his backpack. It took up most of his backpack but he didn't care. The rest of his backpack was filled by a compendium of artifacts. It was written an extremely long time ago. He estimated it was multiple millennia old, preserved with a simple protective spell. There was the possibility that it was out of date but if Elspeth said about the treasure was accurate then it should've existed around the time the book was written.

"Alright so if you'll all follow me," the crowd started to move. Jace noticed Onyx lift Whisper up onto his back. He snorted. _Really? If he can't walk fast enough then take him to the back of the crowd._ Jace quickly shut down that train of thought. He knew he didn't know the circumstances around Whisper. He sighed. _I shouldn't be so judgemental. Whisper wouldn't be able to get to the back of the crowd without being trampled._ He slid silently through the group to the back. There were way too many people. The dorm building was easily seven stories high. Apparently the top and bottom floors were gathering areas and the other floors were all bedrooms. He stayed to the back of the crowd. _If I'm in the back then hopefully I'll be one of the last ones to get a room. And hopefully I'll be able to get a room to myself._

"Hey Cat Ears," Ral smirked.

Jace gritted his teeth and ignored him. _We're here to find the treasure thing. Why do I have to go to school? Just because Gideon found out it was required by the law and was worried about us being unable to "blend in". That's stupid._ Eventually it was just him, Ral and Onyx that were following the teacher around.

"How about you two be roommates her," the teacher nodded to Jace and Ral. He turned to Onyx.

"What?" Jace stared at the teacher and then glared at Ral, "I can't-"

"We're roommates Cat Ears!" Ral wrapped his arm around Jace's shoulders and grinned.

Jace gritted his teeth. _This is what I didn't want!_ "Get off me," he pulled free from Ral and stalked down the hallway.

"Cat Ears!" Ral followed him.

"Go away Ral," Jace hissed.

"Leave him be."

"But-"

"Just don't," Onyx said, "Let him be alone."

Ral sighed, "Alright."


	7. Chapter 7

Chandra looked around, "Well this is certainly interesting. We ended up sharing a room, Zombie lover."

"We did, you useless Pyro," Lilianna sighed. She glanced out the window. Jace was leaving the boys dorm building and not doubt going to the library. Two days had passed since orientation. They had now officially started school. Lilianna sighed.

"You seem bored," Chandra glanced at her.

"Am I supposed to be excited?" Lilianna asked dryly.

"I don't know. That's up to you. I'm going out."

"Alright," Lilianna nodded. She watched the redhead slip out the door and then looked out the window. Chandra successfully got out of the building and up and over the wall that separated the grounds from the city. The wall wasn't high nor was it hard to climb. She however had no interest in finding out for herself how hard the wall was to climb. She moved everything in the room off to the sides and opened a drawer in her dresser. Inside she found the book she'd been looking for. _Let's make life a little more interesting. It shouldn't be too hard. I've spent a lot of the past two days preparing for this._ She opened the book to the marked page. She followed the instructions to the summoning spell exactly. If one mistake was made the caster was consumed by whatever force they summoned. The more powerful the force the more likely a poor outcome was. Lilianna however was a different kind of caster. The spell would be difficult but her abilities as a planeswalker, though they were dormant and useless on this world, would make it impossible for anything here to consume her. It was a convenient little loophole she was more than willing to exploit to make life more interesting.

"Who dares call me?"

"Xerxes," Lilianna smirked, "The son of the last emperor of Mikirra. Your sister was chosen as heir over you was she not?"

"That is in the past planeswalker!" Xerxes roared angrily.

"Well I have an offer to make. I have summoned you here and that would technically mean you'd have to do as I bid you correct?"

"I will follow no one's orders. I should consume you where you stand."

Lilianna leaned back leisurely, "Ah but you can't can you? Planeswalkers are foreign beings. The last planeswalker that this world gave spawn to was Kaious correct? The demigod?"

"What of it necromancer?"

"Well here's the thing. I don't want this coming back to bite me. With your consent of course I'm going to use my power to bring your physical form into this world and then I'm going to cut you loose. On the grounds that I am not your target. There's plenty of interesting people I'm sure you'll love to torment."

"Oh really? All to avoid being found out? But why would you care? The rules don't apply to you correct?"

"Correct but I have larger matters that I cannot attend to alone and I don't want a single crack in the relatively good reputation that I have spent way too much effort building up." Lilianna rolled her eyes. _Idiot._

"And all you want in return for my ticket into the material world is for me to keep my lips sealed?"

"And to come to the school I'm going to at the moment," Lilianna nodded, "but otherwise that is it."

"Then you have a deal necromancer."

"Perfect." Lilianna smirked. _Let's see who can and can't tangle with a demon._ She brought his physical form into the world. He appeared to be around seventeen and was extremely handsome. Lilianna was suddenly very glad she had long since learned to ignore her feelings. He was very pretty but only had the goal of being the most powerful being in the realms that surrounded this world. She didn't doubt that he would use whoever he could to get there. "Well that's all. Have fun. But remember that if you slip up on your side of the deal I can and will tighten my hold over you," Lilianna warned.

"I thought you said you'd cut my chains," Xerxes smirked. His amber colored eyes studied her in amusement.

"It's the terms of our contract. If you break your side of the deal the hold will automatically tighten," Lilianna smirked, "I added that little detail in."

"Ah," Xerxes nodded. He turned and started to walk away, "I look forward to meeting that redheaded roommate of yours."

"You're welcome too her," Lilianna smirked. The door closed behind him. Lilianna shook her head, "If you think you can win that one over your in for a big surprise."

Chandra yawned and opened the bedroom door. Lilianna was lying on her side staring out the window, "Good morning. It took you long enough to get back."

"Meh," Chandra shrugged, "I slept at the hotel before coming back so it's not like I was awake all night." She flopped onto the bed, "We have to be in class in forty five minutes."

Lilianna nodded. She sat up and looked at Chandra, "Do you think something's wrong with Jace?"

"Me?" Chandra asked, "Well yeah."

"Then why haven't you done anything about it?" Lilianna snapped, "Since you seem to be oh so invested in all of us."

"What the hell does that mean?" Chandra snapped, "Just because I'm tired of you guys not working through your problems does not mean I'm-"

"But you are. You're micromanaging everybody. Do you really have the right to do that now that you're 15?" Lilianna asked.

"Do you have the right to-"

Both of them jumped as the door was pounded on.

"Be quiet!"

Chandra gritted her teeth, "Make me O Great Student Council President!"

Lilianna snickered, "Go take a nap Claire. This doesn't have anything to do with you."

"Seriously? As Student-"

"Yeah, yeah," Chandra rolled her eyes, "We get it. You're deserving of respect and everything else but who cares?"

"You should," Clair snapped.

"Yeah? Well I don't. Sorry," Chandra flopped onto her bed.

"We have new students today! I heard that they're both boys and that one of them is seen around town pretty often!"

"Jenny," Chandra said. Her head was resting on the table in the only room on the bottom floor of the dorm, "I don't think anyone cares. Okay?"

"Oh. Okay." Jenny sighed and sat down. Suddenly she leaped to her feet causing everyone around her to jump in surprise. "Guess what?!"

"What?" Lilianna asked. She kept her tone neutral to seem like she was listening.

"Apparently Jace and Ral got into a fight last night! According to Onyx Jace divided the room in half and-"

"How the hell do you know this?" Chandra asked. She glanced at Jenny, "You haven't even left the girls' dorm building. How would you know?"

"Well I heard this from Erin."

"He did stop by with snacks," Lotus said. Her real name was Tina but it was difficult for Chandra to think of the now older girl as anything but the Black Lotus Assassin she was. Of course there wasn't much if any difference between Tina and Lotus.

"Hm," Chandra nodded, "Yeah I guess."

"The two of them apparently aren't going to be in class because they're in trouble," Jenny finished.

"That's not much of a punishment," Chandra paused before continuing, "for either of them."

"Ral will just play video games all day and Jace'll read," Lilianna shrugged.

Chandra sighed, "Or decide to go to class anyway just to spite them."

"I doubt it. He may have picked a few things up from you but he's too proud to pick up your stupidity," Lilianna snapped.

Chandra glared at her.

"No fighting in the dorm unless you want to be confined to a room."

"Thanks for the reminder President," Chandra muttered in sarcastic appreciation.

Claire gritted her teeth, "By the way red is not a color that is supported by the school. And nowhere in the dress code does it say that you can wear shorts that are visibly longer than your skirt."

"Go bitch to somebody else," Chandra fixed her Hispanic upperclassmen with a scathing look, "I'm not in the mood for you at the moment."

"Red is a much more interesting color than white or black and it's not like it's terribly visible. They're just gloves. Relax. Worry more about yourself," Lilianna said as she flipped up the back of Claire's skirt, "and the fact that pink is not in the dress code either, than what others are doing around you."

"That was uncalled for!" Claire whirled around to face her. Her eyes glittered with hateful rage, "It doesn't matter what color your underclothes are because they _aren't supposed to be visible_!"

"Oh sorry," Lilianna sneered, "It just seemed fair. You can barely see the Pyro Dumbass's shorts or her gloves and with how short your skirt is anyone that wanted to put a little effort in could see your underwear."

Claire hissed, "There was no need for that. And insulting another-"

"Lay off. The Bitch of Diamonds and I do this all the time," Chandra patted Claire on the shoulder as she walked past, "Try relaxing a little. It might get you somewhere sometime." She could feel the Student Council Presidents glare at her back as she walked out the door of the dorm building. There was ten minutes until classes started so she had the time to meander towards the main building. Jace would either be in his room or the library while Ral played video games in the room. Technology like the Playstation was not technically allowed into the dorms. Though apparently the rules didn't apply to any of them because Ral was not the first one to have a Playstation hidden in his room. Chandra sat in her first class and stared out the window. She sighed, "There's so much to do."

The teacher, Mrs. Hills, was writing on the whiteboard at the moment. Her first class was a first year math class. Chandra hated math. She wasn't very good at it and didn't see any point in it anyway. Her estimation capabilities amounted to "later" or "really far away" and that was as good as she got with math.

The general student body knew of the existence of "nonhuman entities" as they were called. Chandra just thought of them as monsters because it was easier that way. _Speaking of nonhuman. I still haven't found any leads on any possible espers. I would think that's a good thing. It means that they more than likely don't exist but I can't be comfortable with just that. I need to know if they do exist or not. I could probably ask Jace for information on espers but he doesn't even know that his pieces existed._

"Good morning my beautiful students. How are we today?" Mrs. Hills was jolly as ever as she started class. The woman's eternal optimism and perpetually happy and childlike attitude drove almost every crazy. But she was one of the student body's favorite teachers because of it. She was a descendant of a creature from the positive reflection of the world giving her an aura of positivity and happiness that was almost contagious.

"We're alright, Mrs." most of the students responded almost in unison.

"We have a new student today. His name is Caedrus. Everyone say hello Caedrus." Mrs. Hills turned to the door, "Hey. Come on in."

Chandra recognized Lotus' boyfriend, male best friend. Their relationship was complicated and she didn't really care for the specifics of it. He appeared to be either Hispanic or Indo-Aryan. Chandra couldn't tell nor did she care. His appearance made no difference to her. His dark hair was curly but cut short and his silvery grey eyes studied everyone in the room calmly.

"Hi Caedrus," everyone said.

Chandra remained silent and turned her attention back to the window. _I'm so moody but I really don't feel like indulging Mrs. Hills at the moment._ Chandra heard a lot about the other new kid whose name was apparently Xerxes. Apparently he was astonishingly handsome and officially had every girl in the school fawning over him.

"That's him!" A girl in her science class squealed as a young man went walking past the door of the room. Chandra looked him over carefully, "Oh." His blond hair was somewhat messy but looked like it was purposefully made to look that way. She couldn't see his face so she couldn't base any piece of her opinion of him on his expression. Everything about him seemed very regal and somehow untouchable. His uniform was very neat and tidy and he walked with an air of overconfidence. Chandra's eyes narrowed. _I can feel his condescending superiority complex from here. Jeez._

"Isn't he cute?"

"Sure," Chandra shrugged, "I'm not the biggest fan of blondes but I guess he's alright. He's not top of my list though." _Let's not set off fangril rage. I don't feel like getting into a fight._

"Who is at the top of your list?"

"A fictional character," Chandra lied. She didn't expect the girl to believe her since she was being sarcastic but the girl started berating her with questions. "Well-uh..." Chandra shrugged, "I was just kidding. I was being sarcastic."

"Oh. Who then?"

"I don't know. I don't like people."

"You don't? But you're always so approachable."

"I was kidding," Chandra was beginning to think this girl didn't know how to read body language or what sarcasm was in general.

"Oh."

"I don't have much of a list though," Chandra shrugged. _I've never bothered making a list before. Why would I? It's not like I need anyone to rely on._

"Oh."

Chandra rolled her eyes. Finally the bell rang for lunch. She sighed, "School sucks. This is stupid. It's just getting in the way." _I can't help but wonder what the others are doing while the four of us are at school. We don't even get the chance to go home after the school day._

"Hey Chandra!"

"Hey Michael. David," Chandra sighed. _THESE TWO!_ She shoved Michael back into David. The two ended up falling down. She stood over them, "That's for annoying me." She held out her hands to help them up, "Anyway what did you guys want?"

"Well it appears that one of Jenny's friends invited the creepy new kid to sit with us," Michael shrugged.

"Great. Which of Jenny's friends? She's friends with everyone," Chandra cocked her head to the side. _Meeting him would certainly be interesting. AND I'll be able to lash out at him without much in the way of resistance if I want to. Of course there's his fangirl following but that doesn't matter._ "What's he like?"

"Well, he's definitely confident," Michael sounded uneasy.

"Uh-huh? And what's wrong with that?" Chandra asked.

"He's kind of a manipulative jerk," David said.

"Here manipulative is a warning flag that he's something a little worse than outward appearances," Chandra muttered. _And I wouldn't be shocked if he were something entirely unpleasant. But there are normal humans that are confident, charismatic and completely self-centered._ "Do you think he's human?"

"The problem is we don't know," Michael said, "If he's not human then someone had to have summoned him. But if he was summoned then the summoner is dead or never created a contract."

"And you guys are here without a contract aren't you?" Chandra pointed out sharply.

"Well yeah," David shook his head, "But for us it's different. We were sent to this world before a summoner was required to pass through the gates that divided this world from ours."

"Alright. So he wasn't here before now but there's no sign of a contract between the summoner that would have brought him and him."

David nodded, "Yes."

Chandra nodded, "Then I'll test him out."

"That may not be the best idea," Michael warned.

"I can handle it. Are Jace and Ral allowed out for lunch?"

"They should be," David nodded.

"Okay," Chandra nodded.


	8. Chapter 8

Jace looked up suddenly.

"Something wrong Cat Ears?" Ral asked curiously.

Jace pointedly ignored him.

 _Jace. Can you hear me?_

Jace looked around uneasily. He studied Ral carefully. _It doesn't look like he can hear it. I'm so damn tired of hearing random voices talking to me in my head._

 _You're a telepath. I would've assumed you're used to it._

 _I'm used to a dull hum thank you. What do you want?_ Jace knew he sounded hostile but he was tired of hearing unwanted voices clearly above the normal hum in his head. The hum had almost died since he had little to no access to mana.

 _Okay. My name is Kurai._

 _That's nice._

"Cat Ears are you even listening to me?" Ral asked.

"Shut up," Jace snapped, "I'm trying to read."

"It's important though," Ral whined.

Jace gritted his teeth, "Fine. What? What is so important that you have to whine about it? And I swear if you say you're hungry-"

"Don't you think Beautiful's been a little too easy to get along with lately? Doesn't she seem distracted?"

Jace cocked his head to the side, "So? Everyone's temperament is different now."

"Yes but being a teenager shouldn't change someone _that_ much," Ral pointed out.

"Then you try to figure it out. I don't care," Jace snapped.

 _Jace._

 _WHAT?!_ Jace gritted his teeth. _Can't you just leave me alone to-_

 _Xerxes is a demon. I don't know who summoned him into your world but that's the only way he'd be able to get in._

 _Xerxes? Who's that?_

 _Go to lunch. I'll tell you when you see him._

Jace rolled his eyes, "I'm going to lunch." His curiosity bidded him to do as he was told. He didn't know who Xerxes was but if he was a demon then that was more than likely bad. _Of course with the kind of people that make up the population of this school I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't the only one._

 _There's a spell that shouldn't take you too long to learn that will allow you to sense to auras of magical beings and objects within a certain radius around you._

 _And where would I find that?_

 _In the same book that has spells on how to summon anything from the outer realms._

 _And where is that?_

 _I'll tell you in a moment. Right now we need to focus on Xerxes._

 _There is no we in this._ Jace insisted hotly. "I'm tired of just being drafted into something I'm not interested in doing at all."

 _You aren't being drafted. You're the only one that can hear me. There's a difference._

 _And why can I hear you?_

 _If you don't need that then there's no need to tell you that._

 _What?_ Jace wandered into the lunch room of the school. It had previously been a ballroom but had been converted for food purposes. It had multiple different chefs, mostly students in a culinary program, that specialized in cooking a myriad of different foods. Jace ignored the food and scanned the room. He saw Chandra and Lilianna sitting with Michael, David, Onyx, Erin, Whisper, Tina, and a large group of other people he didn't recognize. The table was set up on a raised part of the room. It was similar to a balcony but didn't sit nearly as high on the wall. No more than a dozen steps led up to that particular part of the cafeteria.

 _There. The blonde._

 _There's three. At least._

 _The one with the amber eyes._

Jace skipped up the steps and approached the group.

"Hey!" Michael grinned at him welcomingly.

"We were wondering if you were gonna wander out of your room," David added.

"Whatever," Jace rolled his eyes.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Jace turned to see blonde hair and deep confident amber eyes. The boy's face was twisted into a mocking sneer. Jace felt his ears flatten angrily. He pushed down the urge to simply hiss at the older boy, "Got a problem with it?"

 _ **That's**_ _Xerxes._

 _Oh. That's great._

"Don't take it personally," his sneer turned into a confident smirk, "I was just kidding."

Jace opened his mouth to shoot back a very scathing retort but before he could Chandra pulled the blondie across the table by his collar and knocked him back into his seat by slamming her fist into his face. Jace snickered, "I could've handled it but at least I won't be the one getting in trouble."

"They can yell all they want," Chandra shrugged and sat back in her seat.

"God damn," Xerxes' eyes glowed as he looked at her around his hand, "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't worry about it," Chandra smirked. She crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a challenging look, "I was just kidding."

Jace rolled his eyes, "What are you doing anyway?"

Chandra looked at him, "We're just making a bunch of racket and trying to piss off the student council president."

 _She says that like it's not problematic at all._ Jace rolled his eyes, "Alright. Whatever."

"What are you doing?" Lilianna asked. Jace was pretty sure he was the only one that wasn't spoken to like they were somehow beneath her.

"I was just checking something," Jace shrugged.

Whisper cocked his head to the side, "Checking something?"

Jace nodded. He turned and walked away without a second glance. _Xerxes is a demon? But he looks pretty damn human to me._

 _The demons of this world appear human. They always have. They have the ability to control the minds of their victims, bending them completely to their will. A demon's will is usually bad for everyone else involved._

 _Usually?_

 _There are some demons, such as myself that have allied with the Archangels or the Avengers as they're more commonly called around here. Usually it takes quite the drastic change to get a demon to change their ways._

Jace laughed coldly. _Alright and what do you want?_

 _I need you to summon me so that I can take care of Xerxes and hopefully figure out who summoned him. If the summoner is consumed in the ritual then the creature is not successfully summoned. The only ones that are unable to be consumed no matter how much power they have are planeswalkers. They are foreign so they cannot be consumed._

 _And that's why you think I can summon you._ Jace sighed, "And if I don't want to?" _People are going to think I'm crazy._

 _If you don't want to then I can't make you. Correction. I could but I won't. But that leaves you to deal with Xerxes on your own. The book I'm going to show you describes the summoning rituals for everything. No matter how powerful the being you should be able to complete the ritual._

 _Uh-huh? And what kind of beings can I summon using these rituals?_

 _Anything from the largest Outer Realm. Angels, Avengers, Demons, anything. A contract is then created. The summoned and the summoner have to agree to the contract before the creature is physically brought into the world._

 _Oh, so the agreement can go two ways?_ Jace suddenly grinned excitedly. _Okay then._ He hurried back to his dorm room.

"How was lunch Cat Ears?"

"It was dull," Jace muttered. He glanced at Ral, "Why is my giant stuffed tiger under your bed?"

"I thought you said you didn't want it," Ral said.

"Why is he under _your_ bed?"

"Because you discarded him," Ral shrugged.

Jace gritted his teeth.

"Besides, isn't it always you that's bothering me about staying on my side of the room?"

"I'm not on your side of the room. I'm in front of the door which doesn't count," Jace insisted. He looked at Ral, "Give me my tiger."

"You didn't want him."

"Give him to me," Jace repeated impatiently. _I don't have time for you._ "Oh yeah by the way, I'm going to go borrow curtains from the school nurse so the part that is your side of the room is very clear. Since apparently you can't seem to be able to see an extremely dark black line on this beige floor."

"It's not my fault I'm not constantly staring at my feet, Cat Ears." Ral sighed, "Go ahead and grab the tiger if you really want him so bad."

"Fine," Jace pulled the tiger out from under the bed and stuffed it under his blanket. He looked at Ral, "If anyone asks I'm asleep."

"That's convenient because that tiger's as big as you are," Ral snickered.

Jace glared at him in frustration. Of course Ral was playing a video game and not looking at him so he didn't see the look. Jace popped open the window and climbed onto the sill.

"You do realize that this is the fourth floor."

"There's a tree I can jump into."

"You aren't afraid of heights are you?"

"Would you stop making cat stereotype references?" Jace hissed angrily, "You're really starting to piss me off."

"I guess. The last time I pissed you off was early this morning. You slammed my face into your bed frame."

"And? You wouldn't stay on your side of the room and obviously didn't have any regard for the fact that I have repeatedly told you to do so." Jace jumped into the nearby tree and landed easily on a thin branch. It started to splinter under his weight but he was on a sturdier branch before it broke out from under him. He moved gracefully and swiftly down the tree.

 _The book is in a small bookstore outside the school. The owner is a faerie so be careful. They're known for mischief and pranks. You'll probably have to buy it. I hope you're resistant to charms._

 _Do charms require eye contact?_ Jace stopped and glanced back up at the window he'd jumped out of through the many branches of the tree.

 _Um yes. But they will work through glasses._

 _That's fine. I'm not getting glasses._ Jace slid into the main building from a side door. He made his way to the nurse's office. He moved slowly through the halls. The students that weren't in trouble and confined to their dorm room would be in class. Anyone that wasn't in class would theoretically get in trouble. _I can't get in trouble if I'm not caught._ He slid down the hallway and into the nurse's office, "Hey."

"Hello. Come in," the nurse herself was human though she had extensive knowledge of nonhuman beings' anatomy.

"Hey," Jace walked in, "I was wondering if I could borrow some curtains."

"What for?"

"Because my roommate won't stay on his side of the room," Jace said. _And so I can get some bandages._

 _Bandages?_

 _To cover my eyes._ "Please?"

"What's wrong with your roommate?"

"He's annoying and dumb and disorganized. I'm tired of his mess being scattered all over the room," Jace shrugged.

The nurse shook her head, "Alright but you're only getting two."

"Thanks," Jace forced himself to sound appreciative. She got to her feet and walked into a separate smaller storage room. Jace slid up behind her desk. He found an inventory of all her supplies in a stack on her desk. _Of course. They're in the damn storage room. That's stupid. Well no. It's disadvantageous for me._ He hurried back to where he had been standing. Anxiety crept into his stomach when he noticed he had moved the monitor by forty five degrees without realizing it. But the nurse was already out of the storage room and approaching him. He took the curtains and watched her fix her monitor.

"If that's all then you can go."

"Alright," Jace nodded. He hurried out of the room. _How in the world am I going to get bandages then?_

"Aren't you suppose to be in class?"

Jace turned. A school counselor stood behind him. He glanced at the woman's tag. _Mrs. Elvira? She's my counselor isn't she? That's okay. I don't ever plan on interacting with her anyway._ He nodded, "I was at the nurse and actually I'm supposed to be in my dorm."

"Then go there," she ordered coldly.

"That's where I'm going," Jace muttered, "I just needed to borrow these."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to," Jace met her gaze defiantly.

Her gaze hardened into a disapproving glare, "Why?"

Jace lowered his gaze and studied the ground. Anxiety ate at his stomach. _This is an uncomfortable situation. I really wish she'd stop looking at me like that._ "Cause my roommate," he mumbled.

"What's wrong with your roommate? Can't you just deal with it, or submit a request to change your room instead of depleting the nurse of her supplies for your own selfish reasons?"

"She has plenty. It's not like curtains are vital to saving someone's life," Jace snapped. He stepped back, "I'm going back to my dorm now." He turned and walked slowly away. _She'll get even more bent out of shape if I start running where she can see._ Once he had left her around the corner he darted away. He left the school and walked to the dorm building. He walked into the room he shared with Ral.

"Hey Cat Ears!" Ral's bright grin faded to a more serious look once he saw his face, "Is something wrong? You look rather spooked."

"It's nothing," Jace insisted. He dropped the curtains on his bed, "I'll put these up when I get back. Don't touch them."

"Alright," Ral nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to have a blindfold would you?" Jace asked.

"I think I might have something that'll count," Ral shrugged, "Why?"

"Just because."

"Alright," Ral dug through the pile of games and electronics he had sitting between his bed and the window. He pulled out a black piece of cloth. One end was ragged, having apparently been cut but the other side had a smooth seam, "I found that by the way. I was going to use it as a connector for something that I haven't come up with yet."

Jace shrugged and walked back out the door.

"Hey Jace," Mr. Rice was patrolling the hallways when he closed the door behind him. Jace looked at him, "You're not going to yell at me for leaving my dorm when I'm supposed to be in trouble?"

"No," Mr. Rice was everyone's favorite history teacher. He had a tendency to ramble on about somewhat unimportant things and was very fascinated with ancient languages and wars. Jace pretended to be asleep through most of his class but found it to be one of his more entertaining classes.

"Why not?" Jace asked curiously.

"Because it's not like you were confined to the room. I mean if you're slamming your roommates head into your bed frame then you two must not get along very well. It wouldn't really be the smartest thing to do if I send you back in there if he's driving you crazy," Mr. Rice cocked his head to the side, "Why do you ask?"

"Mrs. Elvira yelled at me just now," Jace shrugged and studied the ground.

"For being independent and defiant you're pretty uncomfortable when you _do_ get in trouble aren't you?" Mr. Rice patted the top of Jace's head.

Jace growled in frustration, "Can you not? I know have cat ears but that's not cute."

"Of course you're cute," Mr. Rice chuckled, "Have fun with whatever you were going to do." He continued his hallway patrol.

Jace shrugged and followed him.

 _You don't like getting in trouble but you're going to sneak through the school?_

 _Shut up. You don't know anything._ Jace found that he was in a very sour mood. Images from his past surfaced in his mind but he pushed them away. He paused, "Mr. Rice!" He hurried after the teacher.

"Huh?"

"Would I be able to get a desk in my room?" Jace asked as he caught up to him.

"I don't see why not," Mr. Rice shrugged, "but that would be something you'd want to clear with someone. Maybe the principal. Or your counselor. Wait. You have Elvira don't you? She wouldn't allow it. Go clear it with the principal."

Jace nodded, "Okay." He left the building and darted across the courtyard to the gate and wall. The wall was brick and not hard to get over. He dropped down on the other side and looked around. _Where to now?_

 _Well the most direct route would be directly south until you hit the shopping mall. Then you'd go straight east from there. It'll be a small little bookstore._

Jace nodded. He covered his eyes with the piece of cloth and easily tied it behind his head. He headed directly south, using his other senses to guide him.


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh so you know who you're dealing with."

Jace heard a high pitched singsongy voice purr at him in an almost mocking way. He cocked his head to the side, "And so what if I do?"

"Oh well, I guess I've had enough stares for one day to make up for the fact that I can't see your eyes. I really do with I could see you're eyes though. They must be very pretty."

"I'm here because I'm looking for a book. Not casual conversation or ambiguous compliments," Jace said evenly.

"Oh. What book?"

Jace described it to her the way Kurai had done for him.

"Ooh so you're a mage. And a summoner to be more specific. Intriguing. I haven't had a mage come to my shop in quite some time. Now I really want to see your eyes. They must be intense."

"I'm not showing you my eyes so get over it," Jace snapped.

"Too bad you're so rude," her voice made Jace picture her as pouting. He sighed, "Can I please have the book?"

"Sure," she shoved a book across the counter at him.

"That's not it," Jace said evenly.

"You can't see it."

"It's too wide to be the book I'm looking for," Jace said.

"Oh and how can you tell?"

"The amount of space it takes up," Jace shrugged.

"You're quite spatially aware for someone that decided to cover his eyes in an effort to avoid being charmed."

"It comes with the territory," Jace flicked his ears at her.

"Alright. Fine. This one."

"That's not it either."

"Oh really?"

"Hm-hm," Jace nodded, "Can we stop playing games? I'm tired of it. I want the book. I didn't come here to play 'Let's See if He'll Take off the blindfold so I can See His Eyes' alright."

"Ugh, fine," she sounded irritated, "At least take your blindfold off once?"

"No."

"Next time you come by?"

"I'm not coming back."

"Why not?"

"I don't feel like it."

"You don't like me is what you're really saying."

"I'd just say that being blind just for the sake of getting a book is way too much effort to put into something this simple," Jace shrugged, "and you're being difficult isn't helping."

"I'll give you the book if you take off the blindfold and let me see your eyes."

Jace gritted his teeth.

"I promise I won't charm you. Just let me look."

Jace shook his head, "No."

"Why not?"

"I don't believe you."

"But I'm being completely honest."

 _She does sound sincere._ Jace admitted to himself. _But just because she sounds sincere doesn't mean she is._ "No."

"Then you aren't getting the book."

Jace bit his lower lip, "Why is it so important that you see my eyes if you don't want to charm me then?"

"To confirm a hunch."

"What kind of hunch?" Jace cocked his head to the side.

"I'll tell you after I've confirmed it or not."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, I have to confirm it first."

"But-"

"Let me see your eyes," she kneeled down behind the counter.

"No."

"Then you don't get the book nor do you get to know what my hunch is."

Jace gritted his teeth, "No. I'm not going to show you my eyes. I don't trust you."

"Then you're wasting your time here."

"I'm not leaving until I get the book."

"Then you're not leaving until you show me your eyes."

"No."

 _Jace-_

 _No. I don't trust her._

 _Here. I'll confirm whether or not she will charm you and interfere if she does alright? You need the book._

Jace bit his lower lip.

"Show me your eyes and I'll give you this book," she rose back up and set the book he wanted on the counter beside her. He could reach it but not fast enough to get it before she would pull it out of his reach.

Jace gritted his teeth, "Fine. But only for a moment."

"Okay."

 _She won't charm you._

Jace took off the black piece of cloth and opened his eyes. The room was incredibly bright, causing him to squint for a moment. He blinked and opened his eyes to their normal width.

"Oh, so you are..."

"I'm what?" Jace snapped.

"It's best you find out for yourself." She shoved the book across the counter at him.

"You said you'd tell me!" Jace insisted.

"Fine. Fine. I know who your parents are."

"What?" Jace stared at her in shock, "My...parents?"

She nodded, "However I cannot tell you. There must be a very good reason why they've kept it secret from you. However I will tell you that you've met them already."

"I...have?" Jace stared down at the counter without seeing it. His mind spun. _I've already met them? But who are they then?_ His eyes widened as the taste of blood rose in the back of his throat, "They-they aren't dead are they?"

"No," she shook her head. Her golden blond hair was long and elaborately styled. Her emerald eyes somewhat reminded him of Vadanya but they were deeper and much gentler. She smiled, "Name's Sylva by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Hmm," Jace didn't entirely hear her.

 _Jace. That should probably wait at least until you get out of the shop and have some time truly to yourself._

Jace sighed, "See ya."

"You look down," Onyx noted as Jace entered the dorm building. Everyone of the male students he didn't entirely hate and could name were gathered down there.

"Cat Ears! You're back!"

"Hmm," Jace ignored them and walked up the stairs. _At least they are dead I guess. But it's not fair. Why did my life turn out the way it did if I actually had parents? Why was I a lab rat with no other purpose than to run tests and participate in sick studies? Why?_

 _You're going to want to clear your head when you decide to do the summoning ritual._

Jace sighed, "Yeah." He pushed the thoughts away and opened the door to his room. "Oh yeah. I have to put up the curtains," his voice was emotionless and flat. He stared dully at the curtains sitting on his bed. He sighed and attached them to the ceiling. He left a note on Ral's PS3 that said he was going to be out that night and left through the window.

Chandra stood on the roof of the girl's dorm building. She looked around. A suffocating stillness hung in the air. She saw storm clouds rolling towards them over the mountains. The city was close enough to the mountains that they were visible but far enough away that they didn't entirely block the horizon. She dropped into a balanced crouch and watched Jace flit across the courtyard and past the gate. _Good. Now that he's gone I don't have to worry about any questions._ She went back down into the building. She hurried down the many floors of the building while expertly avoiding teachers and the single security guard. She darted across the courtyard and into the city. The side streets were dark and relatively quiet. The occasional car hurried past her but otherwise there was nothing. Chandra slid down into an alley and along a wide concrete fence. She followed the fence down to it's end and jumped down to the alley beyond it. At the end of the alley was her destination. A small bookstore that was known for it's informative texts on magical beings and magic in general.

"Well it looks as though I have another visitor. Hello Crimson Phoenix," the Faerie greeted her sweetly.

"Hey, do you have a book on espers?"

"Espers? Hmm. I might. What'd you bring for me?"

Chandra rolled her eyes. She pushed a small piece of paper across the counter.

"Ooh," a smirk spread across her face, "Alright. I'll see what I've got." She turned to a computer that was an archive of every book the faerie had to her name, "I have two books on espers."

"Can I have both?" Chandra scowled at the doubtful look the woman gave her, "For double the deal?"

She paused to think before nodding, "Alright. Both books for double."

Chandra nodded, "Deal?" she held out her hand for the faerie to shake.

She took Chandra's hand, "Deal." She turned and disappeared into the deeper portion of the bookstore where she stored the magical portion of the inventory. Chandra took the books and left with a final nod, "Give me two days."

"Of course."

 _Dammit. Of course I'd have to get her double. It pays to deal with faeries. At least her being an alchemist made coming to an agreement easy. I just have to get her two vials of some mystical lizard's blood, and four Midnight flowers. You know. Only the rarest alchemical ingredients known to the alchemists of this world._ Chandra growled in frustration.

"Phoenix. What's up?" Shadow said as the perturbed redhead walked into the hotel. It was the middle of the night which wasn't necessarily uncommon but it meant she had snuck out of her dorm and Eclipse will probably have a few choice words for her. Of course that was if Elspeth didn't get to her first. Elspeth was very considerate but could be very terrifying. Shadow didn't bother trying to convince herself the knight wasn't one of the scariest people she'd met.

"I need to vials of 'mystical lizard blood' and four Midnight flowers," Phoenix sighed.

"What kind of 'mystical lizard blood'?"

"The rare alchemical ingredient kind," Phoenix snapped, "I don't know."

"O...kay?" Shadow sighed, "Go to Dawn then."


	10. Chapter 10

"Cat Ears!" Ral yawned and opened his eyes. _Why isn't he already yelling at me for snoring? Or not being up in time for school? Or just being all around lazy? Or something arbitrary like accidentally kicking these curtains in my sleep?_ "Well I don't know if that's actually possible," he reached out with his right foot as far as he could without falling off the bed. He could barely touch the curtain if he was practically falling off the bed. _Yeah. Didn't think so. So why hasn't Cat Ears started yelling at me?_ He got to his feet and pushed one of the two curtains that separated the room in half aside, "Cat Ears. I'm on your side of the room." He could just barely see the tips of Jace's ears outside the blanket. He stepped fully onto Jace's side of the room. "Cat Ears. I'm on your side of the room," he taunted Jace again. _Is he dead?_ Ral crept cautiously closer. He was completely on edge. He had managed to figure out that Jace didn't like being startled and didn't respond well to it. He didn't know why but if Jace wanted to tell him then he would've. Ral stopped, "Cat Ears. I'm on your side of the room!"

A knock on the door startled him, "Hurry up, Ral! You're going to be late!"

"One minute!" Ral took a closer look at Jace. _Is he asleep? Cat Ears doesn't sleep. Does he? I'll check in on him at lunch then._ He sighed and got ready for the school day.

"Hey," Lilianna greeted him coolly as he walked towards the school building.

"Hi Princess," Ral sighed.

"Have you seen that idiotic redhead anywhere today?"

"Are you worried about Beautiful, Princess?" Ral teased.

"She's the one that's decided she's going to wage a personally war against two elder dragons," Lilianna shrugged indifferently.

"Do you think she's already started that personal war?" Ral asked curiously.

"No. She's stupid but I at least credit her with more intelligence than _that._ "

Ral shrugged, "We're so distant now. Not that Cat Ears wasn't already distant but still."

Lilianna shrugged, "Sometimes having a younger appearance can bring up old unwanted memories."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Lilianna snapped.

"Oh," Ral sighed, "See ya." He parted ways with her at the doorway to his first class. He sat down just as the bell rang. He sighed and stared at the other students dully. _I'm so bored._

"Jace?" Mr. Rice asked.

"Sick," Ral said.

"Alright then," Mr. Rice nodded.

Ral waited impatiently for his name to be called.

"Hey. You know the redhead don't you?"

Ral didn't have to look at him to know who was speaking, "Sure, Xerxes."

"Do you know if she's in a relationship?"

"Why would I?" Ral asked dully. _Other than friendships I don't think so. I've noticed that she seems to take friendship more seriously than anyone I've met before. It's weird._

"Because you're her friend."

"I don't keep tabs on her relationships," Ral muttered. _Does he really need Chandra's approval when every other girl's fawning over him already?_

"Alright. Do you have any idea why she doesn't like me?"

"No. She doesn't like a lot of people. Though there's always a reason for it. Maybe she's just busy and doesn't have the time to spare you a glance. Don't cry," Ral smirked, "that couldn't have hurt your ego too bad. I mean you already have a fan club." _Ah I actually_ _ **can**_ _be mean if I want to be. That's good to know. Of course I'm thinking Beautiful doesn't like him because of how quickly he gathered up fangirls. He's probably the most popular guy in the school right now._

"I'm sure it'll just take a little time for her to come around."

Ral glanced over his right shoulder. Sitting next to Xerxes was a girl with platinum blond almost silver hair and violet eyes. Her voice had been quiet and uncertain.

"This is Melody," Xerxes said. He nodded to her, "Maybe you're right."

Ral waved, "Hi Melody."

She gave him a small wave back.

Ral shrugged and turned his attention back to the teacher. _What is Beautiful doing anyway? Apparently she's not here. I feel so left out. Like Beautiful and Cat Ears and Elspeth can just take care of anything. The rest of us aren't that important to the cause. Of course I'm sure we'll each have our time to...wait a minute!_ Ral sat bolt upright. He had be slouching before this but he was now sitting straight and grinning like a mad man.

"Something wrong Ral?" Mr. Rice asked quizzically.

Ral shook his head and tried to cover up the grin. _If I can create something that'll be able to sense the different auras of objects and people then I can help look for the treasure thingy AND it'll be seventy five billion times faster than if we were to just look blindly. Of course creating something without magic that can sense magic is going to be the biggest challenge of this project. Of course, I could talk to Echo. I mean she's been creating stuff without magic for a while._ "Can I get a drink Sir?" Ral asked.

Mr. Rice paused to think for a moment, "Sure."

Ral nodded. He darted out of the room and down the hallway. He shot out the entrance, ignoring the security guard calling after him and scaled the wall that separated the school grounds from the rest of the city. He dropped down on the other side and shook out his hands. They were raw and covered in small cuts. He hissed in pain as he closed his fists, "Note to self. I need gloves." He hurried down the street and to the Black Lotus Hotel.

"Ral?" Shadow stared at him and then looked at the clock, "It's not even the end of your first class. You do realize Elspeth will kill you."

Ral shrugged, "This is more important. Is Echo here?"

Shadow nodded, "All the way up the stairs the last door all the way down the hall." She watched the 16 year old hurry up the stairs. He'd had a grin on his face and it hadn't died even when Shadow had mentioned Elspeth. Usually that was enough to shut any of the four of them down pretty quickly. _Must be good then._ She turned towards the kitchen, "Sea. Locke. Why do I smell something _burning_?"

"SORRY!" Sea scrambled off the counter she had been sitting on and opened up the oven. Smoke billowed out, setting off the alarms.

Shadow rolled her eyes.

"What's going on?" Dawn asked as she hovered at the base of the stairs.

"The kitchen is burning," Shadow said flatly.

"Sorry!" Locke repeated.

Dawn shook her head, "Jeez. Here I was thinking someone was dying."

"Oh they just might," Shadow teased.

"No!" Locke squealed.

Sea shook her head.

"Then clear it out before they kitchen really does start burning," Shadow said, "And next time remember to set a _timer_."

Chandra looked around, "Alright so apparently Espers are only made from planeswalkers that are aware of their ability. So in other words those whose sparks have ignited." _The espers tend to share characteristics with their original. Similarities in appearance ability and personality. Why then did Orriyon look nothing like Jace? She was blond. She didn't have dark hair...like any of his other siblings. She was blond. She looked more like Elspeth than she did Jace. Maybe appearance isn't all that similar because Lucy looks nothing like Jace too._ She watched Ral hurry back down the street towards the school. She was crouched on the rooftop of a nearby house. _I didn't see many similarities between their personalities though. Orriyon maybe. Lucy just seemed...hyper focused on him. I don't know._ Chandra rolled her eyes, "But that does help. A little bit. Maybe. Not really." _Abilities huh? Like abilities as in skills or magic?_ Chandra's eyes narrowed, "I'll have to look further into it. However I've been gone all night and I should probably be getting back before Elspeth kills _me_." _Of course I haven't seen anything from Elspeth so far._

Chandra froze as she approached the wall. She climbed onto it but didn't drop down on the other side. _Why is Elspeth's car in the driveway?_ She swallowed nervously and dropped down. As she drew closer she saw Elspeth standing with what appeared to be a miserable Ral next to her. Nissa stood on her other side with an amused look on her face. Chandra shook her head. _Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope._ She turned to hurry back out into the city.

"Chandra. Don't go anywhere."

She froze and looked over her shoulder. Ral looked miserable. Elspeth looked unhappy though not angry while Nissa looked completely amused. Chandra turned to fully face them, "H-Hi."

"Why weren't you in class?" Elspeth asked mildly, "You do realize that this is school is specifically designed to help people like us blend in here?"

Chandra nodded, "I know. I was-uh...looking into the treasure thing."

"Uh-huh?" Elspeth nodded a couple of times before fixing the redhead with an amused but firm at the same time look, "You were, were you? And you didn't tell anyone else because..."

"I didn't want to bring up possibly inaccurate leads without looking into them more fully myself?" Chandra said.

"That sounds like something Jace would say," Elspeth noted calmly, "as well as something you'd rip his ears off for doing."

Chandra chuckled nervously, "Chaos is unnecessary?"

"That sounds like Gideon," Elspeth said. Her tone and eyes didn't change. They didn't move from the pyromancer's face.

Chandra shook her head, "I don't know."

"You don't know or you're out of ideas?" Elspeth asked.

Ral, who had been trying insanely hard not to laugh throughout the entire exchange couldn't help but snicker.

Nissa hit him in the back of the head.

He looked up at her and pouted.

She shook her head and put her finger over her lips to silently tell him to be quiet.

Chandra glared at him and sighed, "I was actually investigating an odd anomaly in the alleys of the city outside a small bookstore."

Elspeth nodded, much more accepting of this answer than the others, "Still. You two are going to go to the rest of your classes without complaint. AND you will have perfect attendance for a week."

Ral nodded quickly, "Sure."

Chandra sighed, "Alright." She looked at Ral, "What class are we supposed to be in?"

"It's probably close to the later half of second."

"Seriously?" Chandra snapped, "That's my least favorite class."

"I personally don't want Elspeth to kill me though," Ral pointed out.

"She's not that scary," Chandra rolled her eyes, "Though I will admit she's scarier now than she was."

"You're just like Cat Ears."

"What does Jace do?"

"Apparently you, Elspeth, and Princess aren't scary to him," Ral shrugged.

Chandra gave Ral a flat look, "Really?"

Ral shrugged.


	11. Chapter 11

Jace yawned and opened his eyes. His eyes widened in shock and he jerked back. He growled and threw the huge eyed stuffed unicorn off the bed, "Ral." He looked at the clock that sat on his desk. It was mid afternoon. School was close enough to over that he wasn't going to bother going. His growling stomach drove him to Erin's room, which was closer than the common room all the way down the stairs. Erin had a larger variety of food anyway. Since the teachers and administration funded the food in the common rooms the variety was pretty minimal. Food technically wasn't allowed in the dorm rooms but finding Erin's stash wasn't hard for Jace. Picking the lock to his door was harder. If Jace remembered correctly he shared a room with Michael. _I'm glad I got Ral instead of Michael and David._ He identified Erin's side of the room easily. Michael's side looked like a hurricane had hit it within the past hour while Erin at least tried to have some semblance of organization. The food was hidden behind a false back and bottom in the bottom drawer of the dresser in his side of the closet. Jace found a whole bunch of food crammed into the dresser. He stared at it for a moment. _Only someone as disorganized as Erin is would be able to fit this much food into such a small amount of space without it exploding._ He looked at the curve that made up the false bottom, "Never mind. Maybe it will explode eventually."

Jace grabbed a box of crackers, replaced the bottom, and left the room. He closed the door behind him but didn't bother locking it. Unlocking it had been too much trouble. He wasn't going to lock it. He wandered back into his room and sat on the bed. _How am I going to find that treasure? I need to find it soon so we can hurry off of here. This place is...a problem._ He dozed.

"CAT EARS! CAT EARS! CAT EARS!"

Jace opened one eye and glared at his annoying roommate. Ral stood in front of the door, "What do you want?"

"I had most brilliant idea ever in history today!" Ral grinned excitedly, "And you missed Beautiful calling Xerxes a heartess cock monger but-"

"Why is it her insults never make sense? There's no way someone could take that as an insu-"

"Not if you think about it," Ral shrugged. His grin doubled in size, "ANYWAY! I came up with a brilliant idea to-"

"Fine! What is it?" Jace snapped, "I swear if you keep repeating yourself-"

"I have an idea for a device that can sense and identify the magical auras of people and objects," Ral interrupted.

Jace stared at him for a moment, "So...we can find the treasure-"

"In at least half the time!" Ral grinned.

"You just have to build said device," Jace said, "and _not_ have it explode in your face."

Ral nodded, "Yeah."

Jace sighed, "What are you waiting for then?"

"Well..." Jace ignored him. Ral would rant about his idea and how brilliant it was before he started working on it. He always did. Though he usually did it to Kaechia or Chandra. _That would mean that I wouldn't need to use a spell to do so. Summoning Kurai was a pain in the ass. That took way too much effort. Every single ritual is like that. Spells can't be much different. Except they'd take a smaller amount of energy._

"Have you been eating crackers all day?" Ral asked suddenly.

Jace looked at the box of crackers sitting on the bed beside him. He pulled a cracker out of the package and ate it, "So what?"

"Nothing," Ral shook his head.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Okay."

"Anyway..."

Jace looked out the window. _However there is telepathy here. It's just a different form of telepathy. Of course everything from this world is different. They don't have mana. There's nothing really for them to use as energy other than themselves. There's nothing for us to use other than ourselves while we're here._ He sighed, "Ral, there's a book in the library."

"What book?" Ral asked.

"It's a spell book. It has all sorts of things in it. Can you get it for me?"

"Why? Cat Ears you always yell at me-"

"This is different," Jace insisted, "Besides it has _all sorts_ of spells. There's stuff in it for you too."

Ral cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Wouldn't being able to use magic help you build your device?" Jace asked. He crossed his arms over his chest, "Go get it."

"Of course, Master Cat Ears. God damn I'll go get your stupid book."

"Thank you!" Jace called after him. He sat back against the wall. _At least the stuffed animals he's insisted on getting me aren't exclusively cats anymore. I mean waking to the giant eyes of a freaking unicorn is not the best thing but at least it wasn't a cat._ "I hate you so much sometimes." _Though his device idea could definitely help. I doubt Lilianna's interested in leaving. She's almost as popular amongst the people here as the student council president. There's something weird about that person. She's probably not human and not a good guy but I don't really care. I'm going to find the treasure and get off of here. Kurai should be in school tomorrow. According to him the treasure is in three pieces. Not new news but whatever. There's a ring, a medallion and a human being. The human part of the treasure is a hereditary thing. The first child born to the carrier inherits the treasure from them but the original carrier dies soon afterward. Of course kids with missing parents isn't uncommon._ Jace gritted his teeth, "Stay focused dammit." _My parents don't matter._

"Is this the book Cat ears?"Ral asked as he walked in the door holding a short but thick leather bound book. Jace looked at it and nodded, "That's it. Let me see it."

"No. I got it," Ral hugged the giant book close to his chest.

Jace hissed, "Give me it!"

"No!"

"I was the one that asked you to go get it!" Jace growled, "Without me you wouldn't have known it existed."

"So? It's mine now."

"It belongs to the library!"

"Quiet down you two!" the security guard called with a knock on their door.

Jace glanced at the door, "Give me it." He made sure to keep his voice low enough that it shouldn't be heard beyond the door.

"No," Ral sat on his bed and shook his head. Jace could just make out his outline behind the curtain, "Ral give me the damn book."

"No. It's mine now."

"I asked _you_ to get it for _me_. Or did you forget that fact?"

"You didn't _ask_ Cat Ears," Ral smirked, "You crossed your arms over your chest and ordered me to get it like you were a king and I was a servant."

"Same difference," Jace insisted, "Give it."

"It is not the same thing," Ral corrected, "I am not your servant."

Jace walked up to the curtains and moved one aside, "Give me the book."

"No," Ral smirked and shook his head.

"Why are you so damn childish? I asked you to get the book."

"You demanded and as I've said I'm not your servant."

Jace gritted his teeth, "Fine. Can I please have the book?"

"No. You don't mean it."

"Ral just give me the damn book!"

"Boys."

The two of them froze and looked at the door.

Jace looked at Ral, "Are you going to answer it?"

"He was obviously addressing both of us. There was an 's' on the end of boys so that means it was plural," Ral snapped.

"And? You're the only one that's acting childish."

"And expecting _me_ to be _your_ servant isn't childish?" Ral shot back.

"It is not! I do not-"

"Be quiet," the call for quiet was a little more insistent and annoyed than before.

"I don't want you to be my servant. I don't think the most patient employer could stand you," Jace hissed quietly.

"Well then it's a good thing I have no interest in being a servant isn't it Cat Ears?"

Jace smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, "Really? You have no interest in it?"

"What are you plotting?" Ral asked instantly.

"Okay, how about this. You and I are going to talk to Chandra and Lilianna-"

"I can tell where this is heading and HELL NO!" Ral shook his head violently.

"Then give me the book," Jace repeated in an almost dangerous voice.

"You two need to quiet down."

"Sorry," Ral muttered sheepishly.

Jace smirked, "Give me the book. Or we can go have a nice meaningful chat with Chandra and Lilianna."

"I hate you Cat Ears," Ral handed him the book through the curtains. Jace took it before the lightning mage had the chance to change his mind, "Now, I'm going to write down the page numbers of spells you should be able to use and if you don't mind a little bit of excitement in the nightly routine we can go out into the back courtyard and you can practice zapping whatever the hell you want."

"Are you really creating a schedule for me Cat Ears?"

"No," Jace shook his head, "I'm making it so that you can actually be helpful."

"That's cold. Here I thought you actually cared," Ral whined.

"Shut it," Jace snapped.

Ral grinned, "Whatever you say Master Cat Ears."

"No. I'm not interested in being _your_ master."

"Oh really?" Ral asked. Jace could hear devious planning in his voice. He gritted his teeth, "Actually I don't care."

"Really?"

"Sure," Jace shrugged.

"You're no fun, Cat Ears." Ral snickered.

 _Of course he'll test if I care or not._ He sighed. "Okay so nevermind that. Anyway, I'm keeping the book. You get to look at it between ten and midnight."

"Why?!" Ral whined dramatically, "I have to sleep sometime Cat Ears! Not everyone can push sleep off for weeks on end!"

Jace knew Ral couldn't see his face but felt it shift into a confident smirk anyway, "I can always get Chandra to help you use magic."

"NONONONONONONONONONO!" Ral shook his head violently.

"Then ten to midnight. Besides. You can sleep from seven to ten and then you can sleep from midnight to six. That's plenty of sleep."

"But Cat Ears," Ral sighed, "I don't get tired until like nine."

"Then stay up till ten and then ten to midnight. You can sleep from midnight to six. You'll still be getting six hours of sleep a night. That's no more and no less than what you normally get anyway."

"I didn't know you knew how long I slept," Ral cocked his head to the side.

"You snore," Jace snarled.


	12. Chapter 12

Chandra looked around, "Lotus I need your help."

"With what?"

"Getting into here."

"What is that?" Lotus squeaked. The long flat building was made entirely of metal. It looked dilapidated in the image. The fence was falling apart and multiple parts of the building were rusted and falling away.

"That is a facility," Chandra shrugged.

"What for?"

"If I had to hazard a guess, human experimentation. However I'm after something a little different."

"What?"

"Something called an esper. Echo can fill you in," Chandra shrugged.

"Isn't Esper a plane-"

"I know. I know. The first one was created on Esper. That's why they're called that. They're created from ripping a planeswalker's spark into large pieces. Halves, or thirds are within the safe range. Any more than that and insanity become a big problem once the stolen power is reincorporated into the original."

"Oh, alright," Lotus nodded, "Do you want to go now?"

"Yes," Chandra rolled her eyes, "Would I bother going through all the trouble of explaining this to you _now_ if I didn't want to go _now_?"

"Alright. Alright," Tina rolled her eyes, "Jeez oh Pete. Where are we going anyway?"

"Florida."

The plane tickets weren't hard to get a hold of for the two of them. Tina really wasn't looking forward to going to Florida. The place was known for a large swamp that was also a National Park. She didn't much care for swamps.

"Oh, muck!" Chandra hissed. She froze, "It's a crocodile."

"A crocodile?" Tina hissed, "I swear Phoenix. I'm never coming on another journey with you. You said we'd be going to Florida. You _did not_ say we were going to be walking through crocodile infested waist deep mucky water."

"My apologies. I didn't know you were picky," Chandra snapped.

"I don't appreciate being soaking wet at the very least and I definitely won't appreciate being crocodile chow," Tina responded heatedly.

"Well I assumed you'd have guessed that we'd be dealing with crocodiles!"

"Florida does not equate to crocodiles. If you'd told me we were going to be in the Everglades then maybe I wouldn't be so perturbed about it."

"Really? Where the hell else would we be going? The middle of Orlando? We're looking for an old dilapidated, abandoned facility that was used for human experimentation," Chandra snarled, "What makes you think that it'll be out where everyone can see?"

"Whatever. I'm done arguing," Tina sighed.

"Cat Ears!" Ral knocked on the door, "Please let me back in. It's blisteringly hot out here."

"No," Jace said simply.

"Please? I promise I'll stay on my side of the room. Please let me back in."

"No. You can suffer in the hall tonight," Jace said.

"Cat Ears," Ral whined, "I promise I'll stay on my side of the room. Please let me back in!"

"No."

"But it's so hot."

"Well yeah. The air conditioning doesn't reach the halls. It's just the rooms that have it."

"You're cruel Cat Ears."

"This is not cruel," Jace said, "Good night. Sleep well and I will open the door tomorrow morning."

"Cat Ears!" Ral sighed and slouched lower against the door. _It's so hot out here. It's disgustingly hot._

"Apparently the principal is going to hold an assembly tomorrow to say something," Jace said suddenly.

"It'd be easier to talk to you if I were in the room."

"If you're trying to appeal to the possibility that I am lonely without your company it's not going to work," Jace snapped, "I am actually quite enjoying the quiet. I was speaking to myself anyway."

"Cat Ears please let me back in!"

"I'm going to sleep."

"Cat Ears. I thought you didn't sleep," Ral whined.

"I'm going to. That way I won't have to listen to you whine." _Chandra and Tina have been gone for three days now. I wonder what they're doing. And why they didn't say anything to anyone else. I'm sure Lilianna's enjoying having the room to herself. But then again that's none of my concern. Kurai's been at school for two of those three days. I find it interesting how he's so interested in keeping me happy. Maybe because I'm the only reason he's in this world and I can send him back to wherever he came from easily. Why would he be so desperate to stay in this world? His telepathic ability is why he's here as far as I'm concerned. With the connection that came from summoning him I can easily tell when he's lying to anyone let alone me. Until I figure out telepathy for myself his will have to suffice. His ability to stay in this world is all I'm here for as far as he's concerned. That's quite the dynamic._ Jace looked up at the ceiling of the room. The room was finally quiet, void of Ral's snoring or talking. He'd finally stopped asking to be let back into the room. With the quiet came the perfect time to think. _Michael and David seem to know Kurai which is weird. I didn't actually think Xerxes was a demon. Aren't demons monstrous inhuman things? Those are the only demons I've run into. I mean why would a demon look and...act so human? It doesn't make any sense. Everything here is so drastically different from everywhere else. I don't like it. Ugh. Oh well. Might as well not get myself down about things that don't matter._

"Cat Ears."

Jace flattened his ears and pretended to have not heard him.

"Cat Ears!"

"What?" Jace sighed.

"I've found it."

"Found what?"

"A piece of the treasure."

"What?!" Jace sat bolt upright and stared at the door that separated them.

"Let me in."

Jace's eyes narrowed, "You actually found it?"

"Yes Cat Ears. I promise I actually found it...well Beautiful found a piece and that gave me the information I needed to find the second."

"What piece did she find and where?"

"The medallion in Florida."

"So you've found the ring. Where is it?"

"The president's desk in the White House."

"O...kay?" Jace realized that he had no idea what Ral was talking about. He swallowed nervously.

"C'mon Cat Ears. Don't tell me you've spent so much time learning the magical and supernatural aspects of this world that you haven't bothered to look at the mundane," Ral teased.

"Shut up," Jace snapped. He got to his feet and opened to door, "Where's the White House?"

"It's in D.C."

"And where is that?"

"My god Cat Ears," Ral rolled his eyes. He got to his feet and led Jace to a map in the main room on the bottom floor. He pointed between Maryland and Virginia, "It's here."

"Okay," Jace nodded.

"We're not going tonight Cat Ears-"

"No. _We're_ not. You're going to stay here."

"Why?"

"Someone has to keep up appearances," Jace shrugged.

"I'm the one that actually knows where we're going so of course _we're_ going. You can break into the White House if you like but I'm the one that'll take you there."

Jace glared at him, "No."

"I will follow you," Ral insisted.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Fine. But just this once and you will do _everything_ I tell you or you will get us both in trouble and in jail at least. I'm sure Gideon won't approve if we get caught."

"He wouldn't approve anyway," Ral muttered.

"He won't know unless you decide to do something stupid," Jace snapped. He looked at his roommate, "Go back to the room. I'll be back before morning."

"What are you doing?"

"Getting a form of untraceable communication."

"How?" Ral stared at him.

Jace smirked, "The less you know the better."

"Why?"

"There's a telepath."

"What?" Jace left without answering Ral's question, leaving him to go back up the stairs to the room. He wasn't sure he could actually steal something from Echo right under her nose. She was after all a Black Lotus Assassin as well as everything else she did. He wasn't going to give it a shot anyway. If Ral was going to help him then they needed a way to communicate. He wasn't able to use telepathy and he definitely wasn't going to get Kurai's assistance on this one. He had the feeling that the less the demon knew about the treasure the better.


	13. Chapter 13

"Phoenix. Someone stole communicators. I need you to go fetch them back for me."

"Echo, why am I _always_ hunting down the random bits of technology you manage to lose?" Chandra almost whined.

"I did not lose them. They were stolen," Echo insisted.

"Yeah, you've said that a lot. Half the time you insist they were 'stolen' they end up having been lost in your pile of random bits of technology," Chandra sighed and started spinning in the chair she was sitting in, "Besides, I just got back from a little bit of a misadventure in Florida. At least give me the opportunity to unwind and relax."

"Do you want me to prove it to you then you unhelpful little lobster?" Echo muttered.

"If you must," Chandra rolled her eyes, "And I don't appreciate being called a lobster. I am sunburned. There is a difference."

"And I wouldn't have expected you to be able to sunburn at all," Echo snapped, "I mean you do play with fire."

"The sun is a giant ball of fire. But it is far enough away that apparently immunity to fire doesn't count!" Chandra snapped.

"Whatever," Echo shrugged, "Here. I caught them on camera."

Chandra's eyes widened, "Jace?"

"That's what I thought. He doesn't have permission nor does he have the required authorization to just be able to pick it up whenever," Echo said.

"Leave him be. He's obviously done it for a reason. Damn he's fast," Chandra whistled softly, "The camera barely caught him. Let it slip."

"He stole communicators!" Echo snarled, "I need them back. They were the newer models and might very well have-"

"Sensitive information. Yeah. Yeah," Chandra rolled her eyes, "Alright. I'll chase him down. Where is he anyway?"

"New York. On his way onto a plane headed to D.C."

"Why?" Chandra asked.

"You can talk to him about it when you reach him," Echo shrugged.

Chandra sighed, "You owe me big time for this. I'm not going to yell at him."

"I wouldn't have expected you to," Echo muttered.

Chandra yawned, "Falcon! I'm borrowing your bike!"

"Phoenix! Wait! You're not-" He stopped as she disappeared. "-old enough," he finished as he watched her drive away. He sighed, "I swear. If Echo has to fix my bike _again_ she's going to kill me."

"Phoenix WAIT!"

Phoenix stopped and turned in surprise. It wasn't Falcon as she had been expecting but Star. She sighed, "Yeah?"

"Here, it's from Orriyon." Star held out a folded piece of paper. It had Phoenix's name written on it in what appeared to be Orriyon's handwriting. Phoenix took it and cocked her head to the side, "It's for...me?"

"Yes," Star nodded. Once the paper was safely within the redhead's grasp she turned and disappeared up the stairs.

She stared at the paper. It had her name written on it in baby blue ink but the date on it was strange. It was so far into the past that Orriyon shouldn't have known the Black Lotus beyond the fairy tales that surrounded them. The fairy tales were used to discourage anyone's interest in the guild and it's members. She opened it curiously after looking for any other writing on the outside. _Darkness comes with chains of hope and the phoenix shall cease to be._ "What?" Phoenix stared at the paper. _But she's always referred to me as the phoenix...right? And she's never been wrong? What does she mean by 'cease to be'?_ "Shadow," Phoenix said. She crumpled the piece of paper in her hand, "Tell Echo she'll have to send someone else after Jace. I've got something else to do." Without waiting for a response she disappeared out the door of the hotel. _I need to talk to Elspeth._ She opened the door to the house they stayed at, "Elspeth!"

"I thought you promised me perfect attendance?" Elspeth said teasingly, "Of course somethings are more important. What is it?"

"Is there anyway this could've come from Orriyon?" Phoenix handed her the paper.

Elspeth studied it, "Without magic it's impossible to tell."

"Really?" Phoenix sighed. She rolled her eyes, "Do you guys have a lighter?"

"Why?" Gideon asked slowly.

"Because I need a lighter," Phoenix said.

"We don't," Kaechia shook her head.

"Fine. I'll get myself one." Phoenix turned back towards the door.

"You aren't going to steal it are you?" Gideon asked.

"No," Phoenix answered a little too quickly. The truth was she was going to steal one but that was beside the point. Gideon didn't need to know how she was planning on getting her hands on a lighter. She stopped by the school to talk to Lotus. She stopped in surprise when three buses were sitting outside the gates. She hurried up to Lilianna, the only one of them to have perfect attendance, "What's going on?"

"You're the one that hasn't been here," Lilianna shrugged, "By the way, you might want to make more of an effort to be here. You're the treasurer of the student council."

"Huh?" Phoenix stared at her, "What does that mean?"

"It means that you have to compile the budgets of each individual club into a single school wide budget. Well more like make sure the combination of budgets does not exceed the school wide budget," Lilianna explained.

"How did that happen? I didn't sign up for student council!"

"That sucks," Lilianna said evenly.

"There you are," Claire snapped, "The two of you need to come with me. We're needed in the auditorium to welcome the guest students that'll be staying with us this year."

"Guest students?" Phoenix stared at her in confusion.

Claire sighed, "Yes. Guest students. They've come from another haven, Ascension City to be specific."

"O…kay?" Phoenix followed the two student council members into the auditorium.

"Also we're going to have a new principal starting tomorrow. She seems alright but there's something about her that puts me off," Claire warned.

Phoenix sighed. _How did I go from hunting down Jace to wanting Lotus' help getting a lighter to this? Why am I...Lilianna signed me up for student council while I was gone didn't she? How would I be treasurer if I was gone the entire time then?_ "You signed me up for this didn't you? Smarmy bitch," Phoenix whispered to Lilianna.

"I did. You should be grateful I was kind enough to get you involved in an extra curricular activity," Lilianna sneered, "Ungrateful rat."

"Thanks for that," Phoenix growled. She tried lagging behind to get away but Lilianna didn't let her, even grabbing her wrist to make sure she didn't run off or lag too far. "What's a haven?"

"Another placed like Elendeth. Basically the human population is less or equal to the 'monster' population and the humans know of the 'monsters' existence and are accepting of this fact. There are havens all over the world. However Elendeth is the only haven in the US," Claire explained impatiently, "Do you pay attention to anything?"

"Here and there," Phoenix crossed her arms over her chest and gave the student council president a defiant look.

Claire sighed. Her eyes glowed slightly with a purple-blue light.

Phoenix broke eye contact before the spell could take effect, "So you are what I thought you were. Congratulations, President."

"Let's just go," Claire snapped, "You also missed the arrival of a new student. He's relatively interesting."

"Fine, fine," Phoenix growled, "What's his damn name?"

"Kurai," a coolly calm voice said behind her.

Phoenix turned in surprise. She saw red eyes looking down at her. He was taller than her and looked at her with mild curiosity. She gritted her teeth. He had a similar aura to Xerxes except to a different degree. He had the same complex and the same confidence. He just wasn't overconfident. "Hello Kurai," Phoenix nodded to him. Her nod was just acknowledging his existence and nothing more.

He smirked slightly, "I see. So you really are a good judge of character. I will see you around then, Miss Nalaar."

She growled softly, "Aren't we supposed to be in the auditorium?"

"Yes," Claire turned right and walked down a hallway. The double doors to the auditorium stood before them, "All you two have to do is sit there and look pretty." She led the two of them to an ornately decorated table sitting to the side of the podium where the principal was talking with a woman with blue-black long hair. Her grey eyes studied the principal's face carefully as he spoke. Claire sat down on the chair closest to the podium. Lilianna sat next to her, leaving Chandra to sit next to Lilianna. Students started filing in a couple of moments later.

"Welcome. Welcome everyone. Sit wherever you like," The principal smiled warmly at the group. Chandra recognized Michael and David sitting together. The two of them were apparently notorious tricksters but she hadn't seen anything to prove it yet. She saw Erin digging through his backpack as he walked in, more than likely looking for food. Jace and Ral were absent. She also saw plenty of unfamiliar faces gathering in the back of the auditorium. None of them were close enough to her for her to see much detail but many of them seemed just as uncomfortable as the students. _Darkness comes with chains of hope and the phoenix will cease to be._ Chandra ground her teeth together. _That doesn't mean anything. M_ _y job is to make sure they don't feel uncomfortable here. I'm also going to pay Lilianna back for this in full._

"Now. To everyone that doesn't know, the buses outside carried our guest students. Guest students are students from another haven that are going to spend the next school year at this school. This year our guests are from Ascension City. I would like all of you to make them feel welcome. Michael. David. That means no pranks," the principal gave the two blond boys a hard look before continuing, "Also they will be staying in the same dorms as you all. Not that I expect anything bad from you kids but just as a reminder, play nice." He waved his hand, "Welcome to you Ascension City kids. Now on to the next thing on my agenda. This," he motioned to the woman with long black hair and grey eyes, "is going to be your new principal." She wore a black suit and had her hands clasped behind her back giving her a very rigid and professional look, "I will still be here as an assistant administrator so I expect you to respect her the same way you would me."

The entire student body nodded in consent. Claire's eyes narrowed. "That depends on how she treats us of course," she muttered.

Phoenix looked at her curiously, "What?"

"There's a reason we've only ever had one long term principal. Every replacement principal has been driven away by the student body because they didn't know how to deal with us," Claire explained, "It usually devolves into absolute chaos."

"Sounds fun," Phoenix snickered. _I don't have time for this. I have to talk to Lotus._ She sighed, "How long do these things usually take?"

"It's our job to assign dorm rooms to the guest students," Lilianna sneered.

Phoenix growled softly. _I swear._ She yawned and did her very best not to fall asleep during the replacement principal's speech. The woman put a worryingly large amount of emphasis on rules and following them. Phoenix's eyes narrowed, "Looks like this is going to be very interesting." She saw Michael and David speaking quietly to each other. Both of them had mischievous glints in their eyes. She smirked, "Let the fun begin."

A fittingly mischievous song played over the intercom. The old principal hit his forehead with his palm hard enough that Phoenix heard it across the stage. Claire smirked, "Here we go."

The new principal was covered in chalk as a tripwire set in front of her activated. She had stepped into it and it had released a rope that was holding a gallon paint bucket full of chalk dust that sat over her head. The entire student body started laughing. Michael and David shot out of the auditorium, both cackling maniacally. Phoenix noticed that the Ascensions city kids looked apprehensive. The black haired woman, Mrs. Haliel, clenched her fists but her voice was calm as she spoke, "Thank you. For the warm welcome. I'm pleased to see that we might have something to work on together in the future. That is all. Thank you." She stalked off the stage and out of the auditorium, "I'm going to go clean up."

Michael and David slid back into the auditorium, "That was fun!" They had matching grins plastered onto their faces. No matter how many hard looks the two got from administration and the teachers the glint remained in their eyes. They exchanged a high five.

"Alright, alright. Now that the fun's over how about everyone goes back to class. Student Council if you could show the guest students around that would be great. Michael, David. I will see you two in the office. Now," the principal nodded.

The students got to their feet and returned to their classes. The student council waited in front of the stage. The Ascension City kids gathered around them. They were certainly an odd bunch. Phoenix noticed a girl with cat like features resembling Jace's as well as the expertly suppressed discomfort and anxiety of many of the students. She cocked her head to the side.

"Chandra will be taking the girls and leading them through the girl's dormitory."

Chandra sighed, "That'd be me." She rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Alright. C'mon. Let's go take a look at the amazing girls' dorms." She allowed her dissatisfaction with her job to come through loud and clear. She led the way out of the auditorium, "So...this obviously is the main building." _Why the hell am I a guide. That's stupid. It's not like I'm good at that kind of job. Of course then again it is not the weirdest thing I've done without wanting to._ She continued to the girls' dorm, "Alright. So the top and the bottom floors are pretty much exactly-Jenny. Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Well yeah but I was hungry and I heard from Tina that they got ice cream so I was getting some ice cream and-Hi! I'm Jenny! Welcome to Elendeth and this amazing private school that no one knows the name of because it's-"

"Jenny," Chandra sighed, "Just get your ice cream okay? Not that I don't appreciate the assistance but I really don't need you getting in trouble alright?"

"Sure." Jenny nodded. She grinned happily, "I look forward to being friends with you guys!" She grabbed a chocolate ice cream and darted out of the room.

Chandra sighed.

"She's quite the handful then?" A girl with black hair and deep blue eyes said. She had a bright pink bow in her hair that contrasted drastically with her hair and eyes. Chandra found her eyes consistently drawn to the bow, though appearance wise the girl was probably at least a year older than her. Chandra nodded, "She's just...talkative. It's not like there's anything wrong with her. She's always happy and has an infectious personality that makes it hard to be anything but happy around her but she does get quite annoying sometimes." _Finally. One of them speaks. I'm tired of the vacant stares I've been getting._

"She's like Debby," a smaller girl that looked younger but almost identical to the first speaker said happily.

"Hm, yeah. The first speaker turned to Chandra, "I'm Isabelle by the way. This is my little sister, Cristi."

Chandra waved, "Chandra." She turned back to the room, "Anyway. The top and bottom floors are pretty much identical. Boys aren't allowed in here, just like girl's aren't allowed over there, after the sun goes down. Also the opposite gender is not allowed in the halls that hold the rooms unless headed to the top floor. However that rule isn't exactly enforced on weekends or after school because we can hang out in someone's room if we like but only on weekends and afternoons after school." _It's like talking to a giant mass of a brick wall._ She sighed, "Anyway, you guys will probably be closer to the top floor. Lilianna, the chick with the long black hair that was sitting at that table next to me and the Student Council President, and I share a room. I'll point it out and if you need anything you can come to one of us or the Student Council President. You'll have to ask her for her room though because I don't know where it is nor do I care."

"Why not?" Cristi asked

"We...uh. The two of us don't get along well," Chandra shrugged. She stopped in front of her door. _It's unlocked. Why?_ She opened the door cautiously just in time to see Jace jump out of her window. She darted over to it, "What the hell are you doing in my room?!"

"Nothing," He called back.

She looked around, "I'll talk with them later."

"Who was that?" a purple haired girl asked.

Chandra sighed, "A kid that lives with me outside of school. He's...shy." She shrugged. _That's the best way of describing it I guess._


	14. Chapter 14

"I thought you said the device would keep them paralyzed and unaware for thirty minutes," Jace hissed. He scurried up a nearby tree and pulled Ral up after him.

"Well how was I supposed to know they had an E.M.P.?" Ral snapped.

"God dammit," Jace snarled. The tree was now surrounded.

"Come down now, return the ring and make no action of resistance."

Jace growled, "Ral, do you have anything else?"

"I have a smoke bomb but they have guns," Ral said.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Let me see it." _They can't hit what they can't see._

"Um, Cat Ears, that's not a very good idea. They have guns."

"They can't hit what they can't see," Jace insisted.

Ral reluctantly handed the bomb to Jace. Jace dropped from the tree and held his hands behind his back.

"A...cat boy?" the leader of the squad asked in disbelief.

"It's not real dummy," Jace snapped, "Ever heard of costumes?" Ral slid ungracefully out of the tree and landed next to him.

"Put your hands on your head and return the ring to us."

Jace lifted his hands up and dropped the smoke bomb to the ground. He grabbed Ral's arm and darted off. _We can't take a plane back. Neither of us can drive. I knew it was a bad idea to try it in the middle of broad daylight but I was_ _getting impatient. God Ral's slow and he's slowing me down._ He growled and concentrated on drawing energy from himself, "We're going to go back to the school."

"How?"

"Teleportation."

"Are you sure you can go that far?" Ral asked worriedly.

"If I can't we're dead and we don't have the ring piece of the treasure. Take you pick," Jace snapped.

"Alright. Alright," Ral sighed.

Jace visualized the room the two of them shared in Colorado. _And I'm more than likely an idiot for trying this but I'm going to get there._ He drew on the tiniest amount of mana. Sure it was poisonous but it would give him the power boost he would need. There was a maximum amount a planeswalker could draw upon without killing themselves, though the mana would still poison them. He teleported and both he and Ral ended up in their room. Jace smirked. He felt lightheaded and sick to his stomach but that was something he could ignore. He looked at Ral, "Stay here until the start of class tomorrow. I'm going to go see if I can't find the medallion."

"Why? Beautiful-"

"Isn't going to give it up if she has the choice. I need to look at both of them and hopefully having two will make it easier to discern the location of the third and final piece," he jumped out the window and landed in the nearby tree. He was going to try her room first. If it wasn't there then it was more than likely on her person and he'd have to deal with trying to talk her into giving it to him. Or he could wrestle it away from her but he didn't like the odds of attempting that. She could probably overpower him through sheer size, not to mention how vicious she was. He didn't fancy the injuries that would result from trying to get her to relinquish the medallion by force. He slid into the girls' dorm and up the stairs. Finding Lilianna's and Chandra's room was easy. It perpetually smelled like odd herbs and charcoal with the slightest hint of something sweet. He shook his head. _Those two are so...odd._ Getting through the lock was somewhat difficult, about as difficult as Erin's door. He closed the door behind him. _She should still be in class unless I missed something._ He preemptively opened the window just in case if she did return to her room while he was still in it. He carefully looked through her desk and her room. _I wouldn't expect her to hide anything on Lilianna's side of the room. I don't think the two trust each other at all._ He continued to search with no results.

"The two of us don't get along very well."

Jace froze, "Damn." He darted across her room and slid out the window.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" He heard Chandra yell after him.

"Nothing," he responded, loud enough for her to hear. He could feel the medallion's aura now that he had the ring on his person. It was in the right pocket of her uniform skirt. Jace cursed under his breath. _Man. That means this is going to be way more difficult than it really needs to be. Why wasn't she in class anyway._ His landing was rougher than he would of preferred because he was distracted. He scrambled to his feet and darted back to the boy's dorm. _That was awesome. Oh well._ He felt hungry but sick at the same time which was not a combination he liked.

"So?" Ral asked when he returned to the room through the window.

"She has it in her pocket," Jace sighed. _And I'm gonna be sick. That must be the effects of the mana poisoning. Damn. Oh well. It'll fade eventually and I'll just deal until then._

"I got bored so I got you this," Ral held up a medium sized stuffed lion.

Jace gritted his teeth, "Really? I don't want anymore of your stuffed animals!"

"Look at it this way, you could bring Kaious into the room and he won't look the slightest bit out of place," Ral suggested.

Jace stared at him, "Pets aren't allowed in the dorms."

"But with all the stuffed animals he won't look like a pet will he? Since when have dragons be real?" Ral smirked and tossed the lion at Jace.

Jace had a growing pile of stuffed animals sitting between his bed and the desk. It was composed mostly of stuffed cats of various species and sizes. The biggest one was a stuffed tiger that was bigger than him. That one was on his bed because it wouldn't fit anywhere else. Jace tossed the lion onto the pile, "If your going to get me another freaking stuffed animal the just put it in the pile."

"But then you won't notice," Ral whined.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Leave me alone. I'm sleeping."

 _Welcome back. Did your adventure go as planned._

 _Not at all Kurai. Leave me alone. I wasn't lying when I told Ral I was sleeping._ Jace laid down on his back on the bed, "Hey Ral?"

"Huh? What's with the serious tone all of a sudden Cat Ears?"

"Nothing. Can you feel the pressure in the air? I think we missed something. Don't bother waking me up for school if I'm still asleep. Just fill me in on what's going on, alright?" Jace rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

"Sure Cat Ears. But only if you bring Kaious in tomorrow so I can have someone to talk to."

"Fine. Tomorrow, I'll bring Kaious into the room. Jeez," Jace muttered. It took a while to fall asleep but he managed to do so eventually.

 _Jace watched dully as the new girl ran quickly and precisely through the maze. She was younger than him by a few years but ran through the mazes without hesitation. The small windows in the back of the room allowed him to watch another one of the many experiments that existed run through whatever maze was prepared for them. He watched her dodge past a Templar, barely skirting past the part of the attack that would inevitably lead to her death. She was nicked on by the giant sword but able to continue. She completely avoided the Templar. Her purple hair flared out behind her as she jumped over a pit. Her orange eyes were calm and focused. She was among the oldest of the "third generation". The third group brought into the facility to be put through the project. Many of the third generation experiments were called by their serial numbers instead of whatever animalistic features they happened to portray. The girl had yet to be given a name but Jace didn't plan on being the one to give it to her. She finished the maze relatively easily._

" _And the Athena project?"_

" _Athena herself is progressing quite nicely. However we have the problem of getting the rest of the project up to standard. Only one of them is progressing as smoothly as we had hoped."_

 _Jace's catlike ears pricked. He continued to watch as another of the third generation was thrown into the maze. The boy was small and exhibited no animalistic features which was odd for the experiments but that wasn't what caught Jace's attention. The boy was a living calculator. He could calculate anyone's chances of success in half a second and adjust the calculation due to changes in their condition easily._

" _Ah, the Cat then?"_

" _There are a couple among the third generation but otherwise the rest are worthless. Some are unwilling to let go of their emotions."_

" _Well. We'll just have beat it out of them. Or convert it all to anger."_

 _Jace's eyes narrowed. The boy finished. He was hurt but he survived. That was the only point._

" _The Cat's performance improved drastically when his connections were lost."_

" _Then kill the Wolf then."_

" _Of course."_

 _ **Claudia?** Jace sighed. He watched the next one dully. She was so little there was no way she would be able to avoid a Templar and get away in time. However she wasn't the only one running the maze._

" _There can only be one winner. Begin."_

 _The Wolf leaped forward. It was obvious that her goal was to get the young rabbit featured girl out of the maze alive. If Claudia were to die Jace would be the last surviving first generation experiment, every other one having been killed. Both made it to the end alive but Claudia was attacked and killed in a very disturbing manner by a Raptor. Jace didn't watch. His sensitive ears could hear the nameless girl's cries of shock, fear and horror._

Jace opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He realized he felt suffocatingly warm. He glanced around but all he saw was white. He gritted his teeth, "Ral?" He shoved the stuffed tiger off of the bed entirely and sat up. He glared at the curtains that divided the room in half, "What the hell? You do realize that I could suffocate and die?"

"You didn't so I don't see the problem Cat Ears," Ral snickered. His voice took on a more serious note, "There's a new principal. She's really cracking down on the rules. Just today she banned the use of rubber bands, chalk, sharpie markers, and foam toy swords."

"Why? Those are so-Michael and David were involved in this weren't they?"

Ral snickered, "Yeah. They used rubber bands to launch paper and the sharpie markers. They were sword fighting with foam swords in the hallways and running from security quoting some movie or other."

"Which movie?" Jace asked.

"The Road to El Dorado," Ral said.

Jace shrugged, "Alright. Whatever. So she's really cracking down on the supposed chaos that inhabits this school?"

"Yeah. And apparently there's a whole half a school visiting for the year. They're a little odd but not that bad," Ral shrugged.

"Alright," Jace slid off the bed, "As promised I'll go get Kaious." He slid out the window. _Damn. Why does that keep cropping up anyway?_

"Jace?!"

Jace froze. He turned in surprise and his eyes widened in shock. He started at the boy for a moment. His eyes weren't very expressive but what they did express was shock and recognition. Jace stared at him for a moment longer, "How did you even-what?"

"You would not know this so my name is Cain," the boy's right eye was blue while his left one was green. Otherwise there was nothing odd about his appearance.

"Cain huh? Did you choose it?"

"Yes. It was suggested that I do so."

"Oh," Jace nodded, "And you are…?"

"I am visiting here from Ascension City along with my peers some of whom you know as well."

Jace swallowed nervously, "Great. So you got out?"

"Yes."

 _I see he still keeps his hair straight. And he still doesn't use contractions when he talks. Why the hell are they showing up now? How many of them got out anyway? Ugh! Why? Why can't the past just leave me the hell alone?_ "Wait a minute. You came from Ascension City right?" Jace stared at Cain.

"Yes. Why?"

"Was it the closest place to you when you got out?"

"Yes. We were found by a group of kids that are also here just outside the city."

 _So then, logically speaking, it would make sense if I was here as well. But then how did I get off. I got off. How? Ah damn. I should probably go get Kaious before dawn._ "Well...see ya." Jace darted over to the wall that surrounded the campus and scaled it.

"Jace!" Kaious squealed in excitement as he opened the door to the house.

Gideon looked at him in surprise, "What are you doing out of your dorm this late?"

"Ral wants someone to talk to because I ignore him," Jace said. He looked at Kaious, "He wants to talk to you apparently. It was part of a deal we made."

"Oh," Gideon sighed before looking at him quizzically, "I thought-"

"It changed," Jace said quickly. Kaious sat on his head as Jace turned back to the door. He sighed, "Whatever."

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Kaious said as the door closed behind them.

"Just...old...acquaintances popping up all of a sudden," Jace shrugged. _I mean it's not like we were friends. I didn't really interact with any of them._

"You mean from-"

"Yeah," Jace nodded, "But then that would imply that I was here and I was able to get off when I first planeswalked. I don't know how but if I could do it once then I can do it again right?"

"Well…I guess the only way to do so would be to replicate the circumstances which I for one don't want to do," Kaious suggested.

"I guess you're right." Jace climbed back up the wall and stared at the boys' dorm building.

"Which ones?"

"The super calculator is the only one I've met as of right now but he said that there were others with him so..."

"So?" the dragon prompted.

"I don't know," Jace shrugged, "I mean once you move on the past is left in the past right?"

"Sometimes it comes back up in unexpected ways. However if they are also free then I doubt there's anything to worry about other than awkward interactions!" Kaious tried to sound cheerful and certain but Jace knew better. Jace glanced up at him, "Yeah. Right."

Ral looked up as Jace climbed back in through the window. Kaious was sitting on Jace's head but flew off to sit on the desk. Jace looked incredibly distracted, disturbed and calm at the same time. He cocked his head to the side, "You alright Cat Ears?"

"Fine. I'm going to sleep." Jace disappeared behind the curtains that divided the room in half.

Ral didn't believe he was fine for a minute but also didn't want to accidentally mention that would set Jace off. He sighed, "Alright Cat Ears. Even with the ring I can't seem to pinpoint the third part. The third parts the person right?"

"Yeah. I would be easier with the medallion wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Ral nodded.

"I'll figure out some way of getting it," Jace promised, "but for now I'm going to sleep."

"Alright."


	15. Chapter 15

Chandra yawned, "You know something?"

"What?" Lilianna growled, "I'm trying to sleep. It's not my fault you can't."

"I know. I know. I was technically talking to myself but if you wish to listen you can," Chandra snapped, "I was just commenting on the observation that some of the Ascension City kids remind me of Jace."

"Are you talking about that Alice girl with the cat ears?"

"Not just her. I'm not making a comparison to physical appearances. I'm saying that attitude wise they have the same reluctance to interact with anyone and the same fear of getting too close to someone. They just as distant as he was at first."

"Oh so are you going to save them from their self inflicted loneliness? What a benevolent savior you are," Lilianna sneered.

"No. I have enough to worry about without adding them to the list. I am however going to-"

"Silence after quiet hours please."

Chandra's eyes narrowed. She glanced at Lilianna to see the brunette looking just as perturbed as she did. She smirked, "Wanna fight?"

"Bring it on you little brat," Lilianna snickered. She leaped towards the redhead's bed. Chandra met her halfway and they started fighting in the middle of their dorm room.

Chandra pulled away from Lilianna and flopped on her bed as she heard footsteps approaching. Lilianna grabbed a nearby book and leaned against her bed. Chandra reached over the bed frame and turned on the lamp. She covered herself with her blanket and buried her face in her pillow.

The door flew open and the principal stood in the doorway.

"Hello Miss. What's the occasion?" Lilianna looked at her calmly.

Chandra pretended like she had just woken up and blinked at the principal, "What?"

"Were you two fighting?"

"No," the two of them exchanged confused glances.

The principal sighed, "Very well." She closed the door and walked back down the stairs.

Chandra burst out laughing, "Ah that was great." She looked at Lilianna, "You wouldn't happen to have a lighter would you?"

"No," Lilianna shook her head, "just steal one. I'm sure the vampire will cover up your tracks."

"Hm," Chandra nodded, "I was trying not to but oh well."

"How often do you steal things in this world?" Lilianna watched the redhead climb to her feet and walk over to the window.

"That's pretty much how I get everything I do," Chandra shrugged.

"Oh. Nice job," Lilianna watched her jump out the window, "Brilliant. Now there's two demons at this school. I wonder who Kurai's summoner is." _If the connection between the summoner and the summoned is broken then the summoned has no choice but to go back._ _If I can figure out how he was summoned, since according to Michael and David he was supposedly banished and still had a while to wait till her could return, then the banishment will come back into effect. I don't have to worry about him interfering in my little experiment. I just have to find out who else can summon a demon without being consumed. There's Ral and Jace but Ral's too incompetent to understand the intricacies that go into a contract. I also can't really see Jace partaking in summoning a demon, especially Kurai. But then there is the appeal of a temporary replacement for Jace's lack of telepathy in Kurai. However Jace is more than acquainted with being used and I doubt he would agree to any offer Kurai would make._

"Cat Ears. When was the last time you did anything but read? And try to figure out a way to steal the medallion. And fail."

"Ral. It doesn't matter. Leave me alone," Jace insisted.

"Cat Ears. I am now older than you. If Beautiful were to find out-"

"That's exactly why you're going to keep your mouth shut," Jace snapped.

"Cat Ears." Ral looked at him from where he sat on his desk on his side of the room, "You're being an idiot."

"Look," Jace turned and glared at Ral, "We've got two pieces of the treasure. The sooner we find the third piece the sooner we can _get off this world_. The treasure is our reason for being here. I don't like it here and I want to leave as soon as possible." _Preferably before things get exciting._

"What about Kurai? Isn't his presence in this world tied to you?"

"What's your point?" Jace's eyes narrowed.

"My point is there are people here that rely on us."

"They have Onyx, and Michael and David and Lotus and just the Black Lotus in general. They'll be fi-"

"That's not what I'm talking about. It's not just about protection. You're judgment. Beautiful's judgment. Your opinions of people and situations are noticed by everyone in the school. To leave them out of the blue just because you decided you didn't like the _world_ is selfish. At least see this through to the end. You can feel the pressure can't you?" For once in his life Ral looked completely serious and solemn.

Jace growled, "Sure. I can feel the pressure. Even if we can feel it, even if something does happen, we're powerless without mana."

Ral's eyes widened suddenly, "Cat Ears!"

"What?"

"If that was the real problem you had with the entire situation why didn't you just say so?" Ral looked excited. His serious expression was replaced with a broad grin, "If we can figure out a way to either allow us to reach mana outside of this world or purify the mana that is here then we won't be so powerless!"

"Good job! You have literally just now figured out what I've been cursing this entire time. If you can figure out a way to do what you've just suggested then I'll listen and do what I can to help. Until then. Leave me alone," Jace turned back to the book he was reading. He didn't even lift his head when Michael and David's theme song played. He was irritated that the sick feeling hadn't faded and only seemed to be getting worse.

"Have you figured out how to get Beautiful to give up the medallion?"

"Would I still be trying if I had?" Jace muttered.

"Well it would be best to just try right. Simulations aren't everything especially when dealing with her," Ral said.

"It can wait till tomorrow then," Jace muttered. It'd been a week. He'd decided to try and forget about the past that was coming back to haunt him by focusing on the treasure and learning magic. _This does provide an interesting opportunity to learn telekinesis though._

"Cat Ears are you hungry?"

"No," Jace shook his head.

"You've barely eaten all week," Ral said, "If using magic draws from-"

"I feel sick alright. Of course I haven't eaten," Jace snapped.

"Attention students. Ballpoint pens, plush toys, and string are banned and every room will be searched for these items beginning now."

"What?" Jace glared at the door, "Why?"

"Maybe Michael and David did something stupid."

"C'mon! All we did was tape a whole bunch of stuffed animals to the ceiling! Well they were hanging from strings but still! It was completely harmless!" Jace could hear Michael and David through the door. He looked at Kaious, "Hide."

The dragon disappeared out the window and sat deep within the tree. Every single stuffed animal, ballpoint pen, and independent string was cleared from the rooms.

"Fine," Michael and David sighed. They exchanged glances.

"I already have a plan," Michael grinned.

"Tomorrow?"

"What plan?" Jace popped open his door and looked at them curiously.

"Well-are you okay?"

"I feel sick but otherwise I'm fine. What plan?" Jace glared at them.

"Alright," Michael looked skeptical but decided not to argue.

"We're going to take back all the stuffed animals," David smiled.

"How?" Jace asked.

"Well, we'll create a distraction and then find the storage room where all the stuffed animals are."

"And this wouldn't have anything to do with the pretty Isabelle who loves stuffed animals would it?" Ral teased.

"No. That's just why Rick is helping out," Michael smirked.

"Have you asked him to help you yet?"

"No," David shrugged.

"We don't have to."

Jace didn't recognize the names Isabelle or Rick but he hadn't really been paying attention to any of the guest students. _When was the last time I left the dorm room anyway?_ "I'll help."

"So you really do love your stuffed animals!" Ral grinned.

"No. I just feel like being a pain in the principal's side. She's not awful but she needs to lighten up," Jace growled.

"Alright," Michael and David grinned.

"You two are the distraction," Jace said, "Rick, whoever that is, and I will get the stuffed animals."

"How are you guys going to carry all of those?"

"We'll get some silverware and tape them to the stuffed animals," Michael grinned, "Rick has the ability to manipulate magnetic fields. He can attach a magnetic field to any metal."

"They'll be seen that way," Jace muttered.

"Well, maybe not," Ral smirked, "I do have an invisibility field device."

"How the hell do you make these things?" Jace glared at him.

"Well, I have a huge amount of old broken computers and whatever else stashed in my side of the closet," Ral shrugged.

"But invisibility?" Michael shook his head, "Out of a broken computer. Wow."

Ral shrugged, "Yeah."

Jace sighed, "Fine."

"Here. We'll introduce you to Rick," Michael and David led Jace up the stairs.

"You three! Students must be in their dorms-"

Jace leaped forward. He bounced off the wall and landed on the guard's back. He used a little bit of magic to put the man to sleep and rode him to the floor. He made sure the landing wasn't hard enough to hurt him and then looked around to see if the call had caught anyone else's attention.

Michael and David were staring at him. Their eyes were wide with shock, "Wow. You're really freaking fast."

Jace didn't look at them, "Oh." _I wouldn't have had to do that if I had mana. The spell on this world requires physical contact though._ "Are we going?"

"Yeah." Michael led the way to a door on the far side of the fifth floor. He knocked on the door, "Rick!"

"Michael?"

"Let us in!"

"Alright. But I'm not getting in trouble cause of you two." A tall boy opened the door. He had really long brown hair stepped out of the doorway to let them in.

"Actually there's three."

"He looks like Alice," Rick's roommate commented.

Jace shrugged, "Close the door already. They'll find the sleeping security guard before long."

"What?" Rick stared at him. His eyes were the same shade of brown as his hair giving him a very monotone bland look.

Jace glared at him, "Close the door!"

Rick closed the door.

"I put a security guard to sleep so we could get here," Jace explained simply.

"Wow," Rick's roommate whistled softly.

"So. Rick, this is Jace. He's cool. We've met him. He likes reading and being left alone and brooding and otherwise being boring," David said.

Jace gave him a scathing look, "I'm not boring. I just don't like people. And I like more than just reading. There's just nothing more _to_ do here."

"Like what?"

"You wouldn't get it," Jace shook his head. He looked at Michael and David, "Don't you two have something to ask?"

"Oh!" Michael looked at Rick, "Wanna help us get Isabelle's stuffed animals, and everyone's stuffed animals back?"

"Sure," Rick said almost instantly.

Jace watched him. _I wouldn't say it's just because they mentioned Isabelle but that definitely plays into it. He's the kind of naive moron that'll help anybody if they ask or if they look like they need it._ He shook his head, "The plan is, Michael and David are going to borrow a whole bunch of silverware. You and I are going to locate and sneak into where the stuffed animals are stored and then we're going to tape the silverware to the stuffed animals. Ral's going to give us an invisibility field device that'll hide the stuffed animals. However his devices are volatile and cruel so we're going to have to be fast. You're just in charge of transporting the stuffed animals."

"So you actually thought this one through?" Rick looked at Michael and David in surprise.

"Well...we just had a basic idea. The details were all him," David pointed to Jace.

"I'm impressed," Rick's roommate nodded. He looked at Rick, "You're going along with the plan?"

Rick nodded.

"We'll head to an upstairs common room in one of the dorms," Jace said, "and sort through the stuffed animals. Not all of them are Isabelle's."

"Because you have stuffed animals too," Michael smirked.

"Because Ral doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'no'." Jace corrected flatly.

"This is all going down tomorrow."

"Maybe we'll cover the office floor with Play-Doh while they're on lunch," Michael grinned maniacally.

"That'll give the two of us enough time to find and tape the silverware to the stuffed animals before you create the distraction," Jace shrugged. _Though I have no idea how in the world they're going to get enough Play-Doh to cover the entire office floor. What is Play-Doh anyway?_ He looked at Rick, "Okay? Meet me outside the back of the dorm building before school starts. You're taking tomorrow off." He left the room through the window, ignoring the odd looks Rick and his roommate gave him. Michael and David could get in trouble. Every single security guard in the building was resigned to their antics anyway so they wouldn't be as likely to get an odd look from security.

"He does that all the time. He doesn't like using doors," he heard one of the twins explain. _I don't mind using doors I just don't like getting in trouble._ He landed hard on the ground five stories below. It did hurt but he didn't break. _Telekinesis would be great right now. Then I wouldn't have to rely on a tree for a soft landing._

"Hey!"

Jace turned. He saw a young boy probably around his apparent age. The boy had electric blue eyes. They were pupil-less and his whites didn't show. Jace vaguely remembered seeing him before. _Dammit. Why?_ "What?"

"Have you seen Cain around?"

"No." Jace cocked his head to the side curiously, "Not recently anyway. Why?"

"He was supposed to help me with my newest project but he hasn't shown up yet."

"Sorry. I am right here. I had to get past security without hurting them," Cain came around the opposite side of the building as Jace. He nodded to Jace, "What do you need again?"

"Well, it seems like this piece is off but I can't seem to be able to adjust it properly. I either don't adjust it enough or I adjust it too much."

"What is it?" Jace asked. It was small and spherical. The spaces between the metallic plating glowed with an electric blue light.

"It's a warping device. Once activated it can make the user appear faster. Or it can make the target believe they're going slower. Or both," Jason explained, "You kind of look like Alice." His gaze flicked to Jace's ears and tail.

Jace sighed, "Kind of huh?" He rolled his eyes, "Well I'm going back to my room." He turned and walked away.

"Cat Ears." Ral gave him the invisibility field device, "You can only use it once. It'll die after thirty minutes."

"Realistically it's more like ten," Jace said.

"Thirty! I made sure it had enough fuel to last that long!" Ral insisted indignantly.

"Fine. Fine," Jace rolled his eyes, "Why did I agree to this anyway?"

"I don't know. To get your stuffed animals back."

"I don't care about them," Jace curled up on his bed, "Good night. I might be in school tomorrow."

"Alright," Ral sighed, "You're never in school anymore. You've missed so much."

"Like what?"

"Well...Melody's befriended one of the Ascension City girls. She talks kind of like Cain without the contractions and everything. I worry about her though because she just does what she's told. And she'll follow an order to the letter."

"Who's Melody?"

"A super shy girl that's pretty attached to Xerxes. She gets picked on a lot and he stood up for her. Tina's a little over protective of her."

"When comes to anyone that spends any sort of extended amount of time with Phoenix over protective is an understatement," Jace muttered, "What else?"

"Well I'm sure you've heard the announcements of everything Michael and David have managed to get banned."

"Yeah," Jace nodded. He glanced at Ral, "What the Ascension City girl's name?"

"Nix," Ral said.

"You know," Jace sat up, "If Michael and David can get enough things banned that the principal has to repeal some of her rules then we might actually be able to get somewhere."

"Suggest it to them then," Ral suggested.

"Well, I don't know about that. Those two...don't really-they need to be pointed in a direction. I don't plan on being the one to direct them. It'd be like herding cats."

Ral snickered.

Jace growled, "Really? It's not that funny. I don't see why you insist on doing this!"

"Quiet please."

Jace glared at the door. He looked at Ral, "Turn on a video game."

"Cat Ears. What are you doing?"

"Turn on a video game," Jace insisted.

"Alright," Ral grinned, "You want to make noise to spite them don't you?"

"And so what if I do?"

"Play this one with me!" Ral held up a case. The case was read but had a sleeve holding the cover of the game. It was for the PlayStation 3 gaming system. The majority of the cover was taken up by something vaguely resembling a person that appeared to be made entirely of woven wool. The rest of it was a random assortment of things. Jace looked at Ral, "Little Big Planet? That doesn't make any sense."

"C'mon. It's fun. It's challenging. It's amazing. And the sackboy is adorable," Ral put the game in the system.

Jace turned the volume up loud and reluctantly sat next to Ral, "Fine. I'll play it but only once."


	16. Chapter 16

"What're you two doing?" Chandra stared at Jace and Rick. The two of them were acting oddly to say the least. Class had started and they were just hovering outside the dorm building.

"Collecting the stuffed animals that were confiscated," Rick said.

Jace glared at him, "Really?"

"Cool," Chandra smiled, "Let me help?"

"No," Jace shook his head.

"Why not?" Chandra's smile changed to a glare instantly.

Rick's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Jace curiously, "Why not?"

"Because I said so," Jace snarled.

"What's got you in such a sour mood?" Chandra crossed her arms over her chest and studied Jace.

"Nothing," Jace muttered.

"Really?" She cocked her head to the side, "I'd believe that. Except it's written all over your face that you aren't happy. And that you should probably eat something and sleep sometime today."

"I'm not hungry nor am I tired," Jace snapped.

"What happened?"

"It's completely stupid," Jace shook his head, "I'm not going to tell you."

"It's embarrassing?" Chandra smirked, "I promise I won't tell!"

"Yeah right!" Jace glared at her, "You'd never let me hear the end of it! I already have to deal with Ral laughing at me because of it! I'm not telling you!"

"What about me?" Rick asked.

"No." Jace glared at him.

"C'mon. I'll tickle it out of you," Chandra grinned.

"You'd have to catch me to do that," Jace snarled.

"Is that a challenge?"

"No," Jace shook his head quickly. He sighed, "Fine. Ral and I were told to be quiet so I told him to play video games. He decided that it would be a good idea to get me to play too. I hate video games."

"You can't jump in a video game can you?" Chandra asked.

"I didn't say that," Jace's cheeks turned red.

Chandra smiled, "It's just the most ironic thing I could come up with since you are so good at jumping around in real life."

Jace sighed, "Whatever. Michael and David need to hurry up."

" _You_ are working with _those two_?" Chandra couldn't help but laugh, "Really? So what's the plan?"

"We're attaching metal to the stuffed animals so I can manipulate them with my ability. Then we're going to take them to the top floor while Michael and David distract the principal and security."

"Ah," Chandra nodded, "Alright. I'll help. I know where there at."

"Really?" Rick cocked his head to the side, "How?"

"Kurai."

"Why'd he tell you and not me?" Jace muttered.

"Don't know. Maybe he likes me better," Chandra shrugged, "Anyway. That means that it would be more efficient for me to help you guys right?"

"Yeah," Jace mumbled unhappily.

"Alright," Chandra smirked, "Now we're waiting for Michael and David right?"

Rick nodded. He looked at Jace, "Lighten up. We honestly could use the help."

"Her help involves impromptu ideas that will inevitably get us in trouble," Jace snapped.

"It's really nice to know you have faith in me," Chandra crossed her arms over the chest.

"Hey. Can I see the medallion?"

"Why?" Chandra looked at him warily.

"To look at it," Jace shrugged.

"Only if I get to see the ring."

"Why?" Jace shook his head, "It's mine."

"Then you can't see the medallion."

"I just want to look at it!"

"No." Chandra shook her head, "If I don't get to see the ring then you don't get to see the medallion." _That's probably why he was in my room last week. I never did get a straight answer out of the little twerp._ "You still have that necklace I got you right?"

"Yeah," Jace pulled it out of his pocket, "Why does it glow?"

Chandra shrugged, "It's magical."

"Nah. I didn't know," Jace muttered sarcastically.

"I just wanted to know of you still had it. That's all," she shrugged. "Hey have you talked to Cain lately? He seems to really admire you."

"That's brilliant," Jace's tone took on a dark hint.

Her eyes narrowed, "We'll talk later."

"I'd rather not. Thank you," Jace muttered.

"Guys!" Michael and David darted up to them.

"Did you take _all_ the silverware?" Chandra gaped at them.

"Well..." Michael pointed to David, "His idea."

"My idea?!" David stared at him, "Anyone who knows us knows that you're the one that comes up with all the plans!"

"Alright. Alright," Chandra sighed, "Continue with the plan then."

"Are you helping?" Michael asked.

"Well-" Jace stopped as the redhead nodded.

"Alright," Michael gave each of the three of them a portion of the silverware they'd managed to gather.

Chandra shook her head, "What are we supposed to do? Walk around with all the school's silverware in plain view?"

Jace, Rick, Michael and David exchanged glances. "Well," Jace shrugged, "I guess."

Chandra sighed, "I'll be right back. Hold this." She left the silverware in Michael's care and darted off. _Kurai's certainly an interesting character. He told me about where the stuffed animals were and told me to ask Jace about Cain. It's weird but I think he's not...bad. He's not good but he's not entirely bad either I guess._ Her eyes narrowed. She hurried past security and into her room. She grabbed a backpack and her lighter. She jumped out the window and lit her right hand on fire. The emblem extended until it's design could be seen through her skin all the way up her arm, from the tips of her fingers to her shoulder. The veins of the emblem glowed a bright orange the moment it came in contact with the flames. She used the fire to heat the air and make her landing soft and quiet. She let the flames die and darted back to Jace, Rick, Michael and David. Michael and David were play fighting with butter knives while Rick held what she had given to Michael. Her eyes narrowed, "HEY!"

Michael and David jumped out of their skins and stared at her. They gave the knives to Jace and turned to her, "YES?!"

"What do you think you're doing?" Chandra glared at them before smirking, "Put the silverware in here. Jace has the tape."

The silverware filled the backpack to the brim. She gave it to Rick. He grunted with the effort of lifting it but used his ability to make it lighter.

She glared at Michael and David, "Go back to class and wait."

They nodded quickly and disappeared.

Jace caught himself smiling and quickly hid it away, "They actually listen to you? They don't even listen to Tina."

"You listen to me don't you?" Chandra turned to him, "When it matters. Or if I'm forceful enough."

Jace shrugged and didn't answer. He tossed Ral's device into the air and caught it, "Shall we go? We are causing trouble after all."

Chandra looked at Rick. He nodded. "Let's." She led the way into the school. The PE teacher, who was always in on their plans opened the door that led into the gymnasium for them. Chandra smiled, "Thanks Mr." He was also the coach of the football team.

"No problem. However since you're helping Michael and David I will give you the same warning. Make sure no one gets hurt."

Chandra nodded.

"Of course, Sir," Rick assured him.

"By the way Jace, starting next week you're in my class before lunch."

Jace looked at him flatly, "Why?"

"Elvira," the PE teacher shrugged.

"Great," Jace sighed. _PE. Why the hell is physical activity so aggrandized in this place? It's dumb. I'd much rather just not._

"You coming? Or are you going to sit there and stare at nothing for the rest of eternity?" Chandra called from the doors leading from the gym to the rest of the school.

"Coming," Jace sighed.

Chandra led the way to a storage room right behind the office, "The stuffed animals are in here."

"Here?" Jace growled softly. He looked around, "Alright." He picked the lock to the door easily. It was much easier than the doors to the rooms in the dorms.

"You can pick locks?" Rick stared at him.

Jace shrugged, "It comes with having to work with this one on a regular basis. Especially since she often decides that just asking someone is completely overrated and not worth doing so she-"

"Really? Who else does that I wonder," Chandra stared at him for along moment.

"Shut up," Jace muttered.

"Alright, let's get the stuffed animals out of here then," Rick unpacked the backpack quietly. Jace shut the door and locked it. The room was filled with all the banned items the principal had collected. His eyes narrowed.

 _They don't check this room since most students shouldn't even know of it's existence. Theoretically speaking._

 _Why'd you tell Chandra to ask about Cain? Why?_ Jace resisted the urge to growl in anger.

 _As my summoner your welfare is my first priority. She is the most able to help you therefore I gave her a little bit of a hint to help her do so._

"Hurry it up," He handed the tape to Rick.

Rick started taping forks, spoons, and knives to the stuffed animals.

"You're gonna need more tape than that," Chandra wrapped a stuffed animal's head in tape, "It'll fall off. This things are heavy when compared to what silverware usually holds and we don't want to lose any."

"Right. Okay," Rick nodded.

Jace knelt down to help them. Once every stuffed animal had been lined in tape they waited in the dark in awkward silence for Michael and David's trouble call.

"Hey. Let's play a game," Chandra's voice rang loudly, breaking the silence.

"What?" Rick asked.

"Um..." she shrugged, "I don't know." She resisted the urge to pull out her lighter. With all the stuffed animals and whatever else was there in the room if something caught on accident then everything would be burned to a crisp, including Rick and probably Jace. She doubted either of them would appreciate that.

"Is there an intercom in here?" Jace asked.

Chandra sighed. She took her lighter and lit her right hand on fire.

"What are you-What's up with your arm?" Jace stared at her arm in surprise.

"It's a...thing that allows me to manipulate fire," she stumbled over her explanation. Now that the room was better illuminated the three of them could just make out an intercom.

"I thought cats could see better in the dark," Rick said.

Jace glared at him, "Just because I have cat ears and a tail does not mean I have cat vision. I do but that's beside the point. A cat still needs light to see and in case you hadn't noticed there was no light."

"Sorry," Rick said quickly, "Didn't mean that to be...irritating?"

"Of course it's irritating," Jace snapped.

"Hush you two," Chandra interrupted, "As much as I love watching you guys argue it would be a bad thing if we were to be caught in here." _Jeez. Jace isn't incompetent. I'd expect him to be able to realize he needs to be quiet._ She put the flames out and sat back down, "Now we wait for Michael and David to do their freaking part of the job.

After what felt like an eternity they finally heard the song play over the intercoms. Jace leaped to his feet. Instantly Rick's ability activated and all the stuffed animals rose into the air around them. Chandra choked back a laugh as a string of very profane curses echoed from the office.

"Michael! David!"

"Let's go!" Jace activated Ral's device and opened the door. He just saw Michael and David disappearing around a corner in the opposite direction with security and the principal chasing after them. He darted past the office. The door was still pretty far away. He growled.

"Hurry up Rick."

"Sorry. I have to be able to keep an army's worth of stuffed animals in the air," Rick's teeth were gritted with concentration, "Who's are these anyway?"

"Mine. Before you ask it's because Ral doesn't understand the meaning of the word no," Jace snapped.

Rick nodded, "Alright." He managed to make it outside and they were halfway up the stairs of the girls' dorm building before Ral's device died.

Jace cursed.

"I'll go ahead and see if there are any guards," Chandra darted away.

Jace sighed, "Since when was she so helpful anyway?"

"She hasn't always been like that? She's been pretty helpful since we got here at least," Rick shrugged.

Jace shrugged, "Just focus on keeping the stuffed animals up."

"Yeah," Rick nodded.

Awkward silence filled the air. Jace decided he didn't particularly mind Rick but didn't particularly like him either. He was too helpful and Jace didn't entirely trust helpful people. It was a weird thing he didn't really think anyone would understand. _Oh yeah. Chandra said she was going to talk to me after this. Great. Let's hope she forgot. I hope she forgot. I doubt it. She difficult like that._ He sighed, "Why?"

 _Because your welfare is my top priority. And you'll listen to her...eventually._

 _Right._ Jace stared at the ground and continued up the stairs. _How do you know anyway?_

 _I have been well acquainted with Elspeth for quite some time._

 _Elspeth told you all of this?_ Somehow Jace doubted it. He didn't think Elspeth was terribly fond of demons of any sort let alone the kind that could outright control someone with the smallest look.

 _No. Elspeth did not. You did. We are connected after all since you did summon me._

 _So you went snooping when you shouldn't have?_ Jace ground his teeth together angrily.

"Are you alright? Something seems to be bugging you," Rick said as they stopped in front of the door to the top floor common room.

"I'm fine," Jace insisted.

"Put the stuffed animals over there," Chandra pointed, "I'll go get Isabelle. She'll know which stuffed animals are hers. The rest are probably Jace's." She looked at him, "Pick out the ones that are yours and take them back to your room. You can go ahead and use the backpack."

"Thanks for the explanation," Jace muttered.

"Don't worry. I'm going to talk to you once I get Isabelle," Chandra smirked. She hurried down the stairs. _He is so gloomy! My god. There's definitely something going on. I'll figure it out. Or he'll tell me. Either one. He'd prefer it if he just told me but I'll probably have to figure it out for myself and tell him what's wrong. Ugh. Sometimes I hate dealing with people._

"Then why do it."

She turned and glared at him, "Why do you?" Kurai stood behind her, leaning against the edge of the hallway watching her go down the stairs calmly.

"It's part of what I do," Kurai shrugged.

"Really? And why help someone if you're a demon?"

"I have technically allied myself with the archangels. For now at least. Besides you of all people should understand that he's important."

"Important? Like a tool?"

"That is the only thing something as great and massive as an elder dragon would see you or any of your allies as. You know that as well as I do," Kurai shrugged. His red eyes studied her for a response.

She growled, "Are you just here to piss me off?"

"Maybe I am? What will you do?"

"Lop your head off your shoulders."

"Will you really?" Kurai smirked.

"I'm an assassin, Demon. Don't play with me," Chandra snarled.

"But will you really lop my head off? Right here? And now?" Kurai watched her.

Her eyes narrowed, "If I do it won't matter. It would take more than a regular blade to kill you." She turned away from him.

"I'm amazed at your self control, pyromancer," Kurai rose to his full height and walked up to her. He stopped two feet from her, "I thought you lived your life by your standards. I thought you weren't tied down by any responsibilities or anyone else's demands or impressions of you."


	17. Chapter 17

"What's wrong with you now?" Lilianna growled as the redhead flopped onto her bed and screamed into her pillow.

"Kurai pisses me off."

"Everyone pisses you off," Lilianna muttered.

"This is different," Chandra growled.

"How?" Lilianna looked at her flatly. Chandra did look more irritated than usual but she complained about everyone pissing her off. She also kept trying to help them like she was some warrior of light come to save everyone from their own problems. She was incredibly impatient and didn't seem to understand that sometimes pestering hurt more than it helped. She also didn't seem to understand some people's desires to be left alone.

"He just pisses me off! Ugh! He's a manipulative no good-"

"I thought you liked him," Lilianna studied her.

Chandra's eyes flashed in genuine anger. It was a face she hadn't seen in quite a while. The redhead had definitely grown up since the previous time line but had lost a lot of her intriguing personality in the process. She still kept up a mask of it but it wasn't a true representation of her anymore from what Lilianna could gather.

"What? I mean you've spent enough time talking to him in class," Lilianna shrugged.

Chandra gritted her teeth, "I sit next to him and therefore I have to work with him in two classes. There's a difference Necromancer!"

Lilianna sneered, "That's good to know." _There's Chandra. I was beginning to believe she'd lost all her independence and fire from trying to look after everyone in Elspeth's place. I always knew she pestered Jace and got along well with that damn lightning bug but this is something completely different._ "Have you actually grown up some?"

"Lilianna," Chandra's eyes burned with anger, "shut up."

The brunette smiled, "You may be older birthday wise," she got to her feet and patted the redhead on the head as she walked towards the door, "but you will always be younger than me. Lunch ends in ten minutes. If you aren't in class I'll tell Elspeth and Gideon that you stole a lighter and help Michael and David disobey the rules."

"You-" Chandra stared at her. Her face hardened into a glare, "You keep your mouth shut!"

Lilianna disappeared quickly out the door and down the stairs. She heard the pyromancer's indignant somewhat angry pursuit and smirked. She hurried back to the lunch room, "Finally. Jeez." _Hopefully that Chandra will be the one that sticks around. That is the Chandra that can defeat dragons. Sure. She's still an overprotective nosy little brat. But that is the Chandra that will fly into a rage for no apparent reason and change the course of history. That is the Chandra I've put my faith in. If she falters none of the rest of us stand a chance. She doesn't understand any more than Jace does. There is a reason Elspeth asks for her input. It's not just because it's easier to work around her impromptu tendencies. That is the Chandra that killed me in the previous loop and that is the Chandra that I am relying on. She's the one that can remove both dragons from play. She is the one that can lead the others where I want them to go. Of course that means I'll have to watch out for her later but if I play the cards right I won't have to._ She sat next to Onyx at the lunch table.

"Hey, Lili," Erin greeted her, "Is Chandra okay?"

"Do you fancy her?"

Erin's cheeks turned red, "No!"

"Alright," Lilianna shrugged, "She might be coming. She might not." She looked at Kurai, "You did piss her off after all."

"Oh," he smirked, "Well then."

"What did he do?" Melody asked.

Lilianna shrugged, "Chandra didn't tell me the details." She looked around the table. It was relatively crowded. Jenny was yammering to a very confused looking Caedrus. Whisper and Erin played a card game of some sort while Ral watched. She cocked her head to the side, "What game is that?"

Ral grinned, "It's called Magic the Gathering."

Lilianna watched curiously for a little while. Erin was playing a deck that appeared to be associated with the colors blue and green. Whisper however seemed to play a deck associated with the colors white blue and black. "How many colors are there?"

"Five," Erin explained, "Each color has a signature...personality attached to it. Blue is controlling, manipulative and sneaky without being exactly evil. Known for mind mages geniuses and sphinxes and stuff."

"Okay?"

"White is good, law, order. All that fun stuff. Known for soldiers, angels. A big emphasis on community. Red is chaos. Lots of chaos and lots of fire. Or lightning depending on how you play. Green is nature. Nature is good and life is amazing. That kind of stuff. Big monsters that take a while to get into play but can and will destroy you if you ignore them. Black is ambition and focused entirely on personal gain. Demons, zombies, necromancers. That stuff."

Lilianna nodded, "Alright. What's the premise of the game?"

"Well each player takes the role of a planeswalker that travels the multiverse and duels other planeswalkers because yolo," Erin shrugged.

"Ah," Lilianna nodded, "Sounds cool. Enjoy." She looked at Ral and jerked her head away from the group. He got to his feet and followed her just outside the cafeteria, "We're characters of...a card game?" Lilianna stared at him.

"Apparently. Our stories are pretty damn different though," Ral shrugged, "According to the card game you and Jace had a thing and Jace and Chandra fought and Jace is allied with Gideon, Nissa, and Chandra in a battle for Zendikar."

"Okay. I don't care about the story," Lilianna rolled her eyes, "This could very well make things a hell of a lot more interesting."

"I guess," Ral shrugged, "I think the art is pretty."

"Of course you do," Lilianna pinched the bridge of her nose, "Just talk to Jace about it alright?"

Ral nodded, "Unfortunately Cat Ears made himself sick somehow."

"He's actually sick?" Lilianna looked at him in surprise.

Ral nodded, "Yeah. I don't know what happened but he's sick. I think it has something to do with the fact that he hasn't slept much or eaten much but keeps using magic lately."

"Great. That's just brilliant," Lilianna sighed, "Alright."

"I look cool," Chandra smirked as Lilianna showed her one of her own cards. Two days had passed uneventfully. Michael and David managed to get highlighters and paint banned somehow but that didn't concern Lilianna. She glared at her roommate, "Really? This could be a problem!"

"I know," Chandra shrugged, "We have plausible deniability on our side. The characters of the game are fictional to everyone here. We can just remind them of that fact and they'll buy it." She smirked, "In case you hadn't noticed no named fictional character has ever existed on this world. Fictional creatures have sure. But never actual developed characters."

"Fine," Lilianna rolled her eyes, "Naturally you aren't worried one bit. What the hell happened to wanting to successfully blend in here?"

"Start fangirling over the story then," Chandra shrugged.

"No," Lilianna shook her head, "I'm not going to fangirl."

"Your loss," Chandra smirked. She skipped down the hall to her fourth class. She had finally managed to convince Jace to sleep and eat. Of course that had involved drafting Melody's new friend into looking after him when he had almost collapsed the day before. It was quite the event and he probably hated her for it but she didn't care. Nix did take things a little too seriously. According to Ral she followed the guidelines she had been given to the letter. Jace wasn't even allowed to read. All he could do was sleep and eat. She had said that he could only sleep and eat but she hadn't been completely serious. _Of course then again with Jace's tendency to forget to eat or sleep in favor of reading it might be better that she does follow everything I say to the letter._

"Chandra!"

The redhead turned in surprise, "Alice?" The cat eared girl had never said anything to her so it was odd for her to talk to her. Of course she spent as much time in the library as Jace did in his dorm room and didn't really talk to anyone.

"Is Jace alright?" Alice asked worriedly.

"So you heard about what had happened? Well...he's fine. Considering he's sleeping and eating when I checked in this morning," Chandra shrugged.

"I'm glad."

"You know him then?"

Alice looked uncomfortable suddenly, "Well..." She trailed into silence and turned to walk away.

 _Great. Good job Chandra. Way to touch on a sensitive subject the moment she starts talking to you._ "Sorry. Hey. Do you want ice cream?"

"Not hungry."

"You like caramel don't you?"

"How'd you know that?" Alice turned to stare at her in surprise.

"She knows everything!" Michael and David grinned as they jumped up behind Chandra. She glared at them, "I do not!"

"We toys can see everything!"

"So play. Nice!" the twins ducked behind the two girls as security walked past obviously looking for them.

"Attention students. Mechanical pencils are officially banned and all of them will be turned into the office to be replaced by a wooden one by the beginning of class tomorrow."

"What did you two do?" Chandra stared at them.

"We rocketed a mechanical pencil into the principal's lunch," Michael admitted sheepishly.

Chandra couldn't help but laugh, "What's with that?"

"Well Jace suggested that if we get every writing utensil banned then she'll have to repeal the rule eventually."

"Why does that seriously sound like something he'd say?" Chandra cocked his head to the side in amusement.

"It does?" Alice asked.

Chandra nodded, "Yeah. He's quite the trouble maker but only if he's positive he won't get caught."

"Really?" Alice looked surprised.

Chandra nodded again, "Yeah."

"Help us out?" Michael grinned.

Alice shook her head quickly looking almost afraid, "I'd rather not."

"It'll be fun," Chandra grinned. She leaned in closer to the other girl and whispered softly, "And just because Michael and David get caught doesn't mean we have to."

Alice still looked apprehensive but Chandra managed to convince her. She led the three of them to the gate of the school, "We have to figure out what to do with wooden pencils if our goal is to get all the writing utensils banned."

Alice stared at her fearfully, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"It'll be great. Trust me," Chandra looked up as she felt more than heard someone approaching. Jace walked up to them. Nix trailed him insisting that he go back to his room. Jace turned to her in annoyance, "You seriously went leaping out the window after me?! Are you insane?"

"You went leaping out the window," Nix said expressionlessly, "Phoenix insisted that you spend the next day and a half from now doing nothing but sleeping and eating."

Chandra sighed, "It's alright Nix. What's up?"

"What are you guys doing? And why are mechanical pencils banned?" Jace asked.

"Well…those two decided it would be a good idea to rocket a mechanical pencil into the principal's lunch today," Chandra explained lightly.

"This is a really, really bad idea," Alice said for the nth time.

"Don't worry about it," Jace sighed, "It'll be fine."

"What are we doing about the wooden pencils anyway? After that we'd just need to get colored pencils, crayons, regular markers and whiteboard markers banned," Chandra said.

"What to do. What to do," Michael started pacing. He grinned suddenly, "We need wooden pencils, rubber bands, tape, and Popsicle sticks!"

David grinned, "Yes!"

"We'll start a war at lunch tomorrow in the cafeteria!" Chandra grinned.

"Wooden pencil ballistae!" Michael and David exchanged excited grins.

"What?" Alice squeaked.

"We need to talk to Onyx. Get him to take us to the department store to get all this stuff," Michael grabbed Alice's hand and dragged her back into the school. David followed excitedly.

"Nix, keep an eye on Jace!" Chandra followed them.

Jace scowled. _Great. Thanks Chandra._

"You should go back to bed. You are still unsteady on your feet," Nix insisted.

"You're seeing things," Jace muttered.

"You want me to-again?" Onyx sighed, "Fine. Fine." He got to his feet and followed the twins, Chandra and Alice out the door. He nodded to the security guards, "We're getting lunch."

The security guard nodded.

"No guys! This is a very bad idea!" Alice squeaked.

"No. It's a brilliant idea."

"It's a BAD idea," Alice hissed.

"Relax. All your doing is supplying your Ascension City peers," Chandra smiled reassuringly, "It's the most innocent part you could do. Besides Michael, David, or I can take the blame for the part you played."

"But then that's not-"

"It's how we roll," Michael shrugged.

Onyx parked in the parking lot of the store and followed the four others into the store.

"What are you two up to this time?" A clerk asked upon noticing Michael and David. The two of the grinned mischievously.

Chandra shook her head, "C'mon. You can brag after we get what we need."

Michael and David loaded up three large shopping carts with rubber bands, Popsicle sticks and wooden pencil packs. They stopped by the clerk and described in great detail their plan while the clerk shook his head and scanned the items, "How the hell do you even pay for all this stuff anyway?"

"We have a Black Lotus money card," Michael and David shrugged.

"I swear. He's probably looking at what they're spending his money on and just like 'these fucking kids though. How even?'" Chandra laughed.

"I still think this is a very, very bad idea!" Alice insisted.

"And you can but you did agree to help," Chandra shrugged.

"You drafted me!" Alice squealed. Her tail flicked in agitation and her ears were tilted backwards.

Chandra smiled, "You have to get out of your comfort zone somehow don't you? We're just helping you along the way."

"There's a reason it's called a comfort zone!" Alice growled.

Chandra shrugged.

Onyx shook his head, "I am transporting illicit goods to and from the school now. God I've done some strange things but this...this is just weird."

"It's Michael and David."

"And only they'd be able to get something as trivial as a mechanical pencil banned," Chandra chuckled.

"Don't you think it'd have been easier to just obey the rules that were put in place?" Alice asked quietly as they rode in Onyx's copper colored van back to the school.

"Easier sure," Chandra nodded, "but there's a very good reason rules don't work well with this school. Nearly every student is a hell of a lot older than they seem. We don't need to be directed or protected even. We can do that ourselves. We just stay here, in Elendeth, to live out as normal of a life as we can. The school is designed for younger generations, yes, but younger generations entail something a little different when we're dealing with near immortal beings."

"So you don't want rules?" Alice asked.

"Rules are and always will be treated like guidelines," Chandra shrugged.

"And that's why you've been bugging the principal?"

"Yeah," Michael and David nodded, "We just don't like being treated like children because most of us aren't. And we protect anyone actually can't protect themselves from whatever happens to be...causing problems."

"It's kind of like paying our due. We protect those too week to protect themselves in return for their acceptance and gratitude."

"Oh. It must be nice," Alice looked away.

"I would be shocked and appalled if you've never risked something to protect someone," Chandra admitted honestly.

"It's not like I haven't but it's...complicated," Alice didn't look at any of them.

Chandra cocked her head to the side, "Complicated huh? Well I'm sure whoever it was definitely appreciated it."

"I doubt it. I'm weak. I can't do any-" Alice stopped as Chandra lifted her chin so she was no longer studying her feet. Chandra's bright orange eyes studied her face calmly, "Weak? You can't do anything? Are you really weak? Would you be here today, right now, standing in front of me, if you were weak?"

"Jace was always protecting me!" Alice's eyes widened and she looked away.

Chandra smirked, "So you do have a common past. I was wondering. Your attitudes were so similar it was astonishing. My point still stands. Everyone has their own strengths and their own weaknesses. You can't call yourself weak just because someone else protected you. I'm sure whoever you've saved and protected appreciates it."

"You really think so?" Alice asked quietly.

"Would I say it if I didn't?" Chandra asked, "I don't deal in lying to make people feel better. Or make myself feel better."

"We're still gonna need your guys' help making the ballistae," Michael cut in.

"Besides, didn't we say we protect each other?" David grinned.

"You two don't protect much of anything," Chandra muttered.

"We do too!" the twins said in unison.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."


	18. Chapter 18

"Ral. Shut up. Nix. Let me read a god damn book!" Jace rolled onto his stomach and whined into his pillow, "How much longer do I have?"

"You have 33 hours 57 minutes and 24 seconds until the day Phoenix has said you can go back to what you like to do," Nix said. She was sitting at Jace's desk. The principal had given her and only her permission to be in Jace and Ral's room because Chandra had entrusted Jace's welfare to her.

He flicked his tail in acknowledgment but remained silent. _I'm so BORED! Nix is nuts-_ He jumped and rolled over quickly as there was a knock on the door, "Ral answer it."

"Alright Cat Ears. Since Nix won't let you leave the bed I will answer the door," Ral opened it and froze, "E-Elspeth?"

She nodded to Ral, "Hello Ral. Don't look at me like that. You aren't in trouble."

Ral nodded quickly and swallowed nervously, "Sorry."

Jace snickered.

"You are in trouble," Elspeth shifted her gaze and it hardened significantly.

Jace swallowed, "Why?"

"Chandra told you the mana on this world was poisonous."

"You actually found out about that?" Jace whispered.

"Yes," Elspeth walked forward and set on the edge of his bed, "Mana poisoning only gets worse until it's treated. Your lucky you passed out."

Jace chuckled nervously, "Well it won't be happening again so...can I not be in trouble anymore?"

"One more thing," Elspeth's gaze became amused, "Choose the ideas you put in Michael and David's heads carefully. They will follow through with exactly what they say they will." She nodded to Nix, "Thank you for looking after him."

"I am only doing what Phoenix said to."

"She won't let me read!" Jace whined.

Elspeth smiled, "That's alright. Have you eaten and slept?"

"Too much," Jace muttered, "I'm gonna get sick."

She shook her head, "I'm sure you will continue to sleep and eat. It is after all the only way to replenish the energy you use when you use this world's magic." She got to her feet, "By the way things are starting to collect outside your door."

"Someone would think I'd died," Jace muttered.

Ral collected all the stuff Jace's friends had left outside the door, "Are you leaving now Elspeth?"

"I'm going to talk with Chandra and Lilianna but otherwise yes," she left and Ral watched her walk down the hallway.

Jace sighed, "Why does no one understand how awful it is that I can't read?! Where'd you put the books anyway?"

"I will tell you in 33 hours," Nix said.

"Why?"

"Here Cat Ears," Ral set all the stuff on Jace's bed. Jace looked through it, "I got food from Erin. Naturally. And one of those disgusting energy drinks he drinks all the time. Why is he giving me stuff? I don't talk to him."

"Just because you don't talk to someone doesn't mean they don't care," Ral snickered, "C'mon Cat Ears. I thought you would've figured that out by now."

Jace glared at him through the curtains that separated the room, "Ral. Shut up." He looked through it some more, "I got Play-Doh and a fork from Michael and David."

"Do they want you to eat it?" Ral asked.

"Remember the stuffed animals Ral?" Jace asked.

Ral burst out laughing, "Oh."

"I'm never playing a video game with you again," Jace snapped. He grabbed a small box, "This is from Lilianna?" He opened it and saw a Black Lotus money card and a small alexandrite pendant. He growled, "I don't like necklaces but thanks Lili." _I can use the money card though. Apparently it's what's payed for all of Michael and David's endeavors._ He put the box aside and continued looking through the stuff. _Why is_ _Lilianna suddenly so helpful anyway? She's creepy._ "Okay so that's all that's interesting."

"Cat Ears," Ral grinned.

Jace didn't even look at him. He didn't need to. Ral only ever talked like that when he had a stuffed animal, "Put it in the pile."

"C'mon! You didn't even look at it."

"Don't have to. Put it on the pile. Don't hit Kaious this time."

"But Cat Ears. It's adorable!"

"Put it on the damn pile! I'll look at it later."

"That's a lie," Nix said flatly.

Jace growled, "So what if it is? I don't care. He can just put it on the pile."

"Fine. You're no fun." Ral looked at him, "Are you going to keep try to get the medallion again?"

"Of course I am," Jace snapped.

"Oh yeah! Princess wanted me to show you something," Ral got to his feet and went back to his side of the room. "It's you!" Ral handed him a card.

Jace stared at the card, "Why?"

Ral shrugged, "Most of us have one. Nissa, Gideon, Beautiful, Princess, Elspeth, you, me and whoever else. I haven't spent very long looking into the game but yeah."

Jace sighed, "Okay. I'm sleeping."

"You are?"

Jace nodded, "Yeah." _How am I going to get the medallion from Chandra? I could ask Michael and David. I somehow don't think that's a good idea. I could try to get it myself. I doubt that's a good idea either. Ral won't do it. Ugh. I'll have to do it then. How?_ _How am I supposed to...wait. I'll teach myself telekinesis! That will at least make it significantly easier._ He buried his face in his pillow, "Ral. Stay on your side of the room."

"Cat Ears, c'mo-"

"Ral, I will cave your face in."

"Alright. Alright, jeez Cat Ears."

Jace shrugged. _I'm surprised he still believes me when I say that. I've said it how many times and not actually followed through with it? I only did follow through once._

He opened his eyes and yawned. Jace sat up and looked around. Ral was gone but Nix was still sitting at his desk. He scowled, "Really? Don't you have class?"

"The principal has given me permission to watch over you for another 24."

His scowled deepened, "Fine." He laid back down and hid under the blanket. _UGH I'm going to find some way of repaying Chandra for this._

"You need breakfast," Nix said calmly.

"Thank you for the reminder. I'll eat later," Jace was surprised she heard him through his blanket but she did, "You need breakfast. I'll get Tina to make you something."

"Please don't. She's made nothing but scorch marks every time."

"Then I will accompany you while you make something for yourself."

"I don't know how to cook," Jace shrugged.

"Neither do I. I will get Tina to make you something," Nix got to her feet, "You will not find the books." She disappeared out the door.

Jace sighed. He knew better than to try to take the opportunity to get away. Nix would hunt him down within five minutes of him being out of his room and drag him right back to it. He heard Michael and David's trouble theme play over the intercom. _Even getting caught in one of their pranks would be more fun than this._

 _They made ballistae with Popsicle sticks, rubber bands, tape and wooden pencils and colored pencils._

 _I thought it was just going to be wooden pencils._ Jace recognized Kurai's voice in his head. He growled in frustration.

 _They added colored pencils._

Jace sighed, "And I'm missing out on it because Chandra told Nix to look after me and Nix is taking it way too seriously." He whined into his pillow, "This isn't fair!"

Nix returned a few moments later, "Tina is too preoccupied in virtual war to make something for you. I will get you some ice cream." She disappeared.

"Ice cream?" Jace sat up with his ears pricked. He shrugged, "I won't argue." He laid back down and stretched. He stared at the clock on his desk. It was eight thirty in the morning. He was still full from all the spaghetti Nix had made him eat before Elspeth had come. _At least ice cream is better than scorched pancakes or a crumbly burnt mess that used to be waffles._ He sighed and curled up under the blanket. Nix returned with vanilla with caramel swirl ice cream filling a bowl to the brim, "The staff will be relinquishing the ability to fill the downstairs or upstairs cabinets, fridges, and freezers to the students starting at the end of this quarter."

"I thought the school year was divided into semesters," Jace muttered. He took the ice cream and stared at it, "How am I supposed to eat all of this anyway?"

"It's breakfast instead of snack so I put two servings into the bowl," Nix explained.

Jace scowled, "How am I going to eat all of it? I'm still full from all the spaghetti you made me eat last night."

"You need breakfast."

 _I don't think she understands what I mean by full._ Jace stared at her dryly. He sighed, "Okay." He glanced at her, "What did you mean by 'Tina is too preoccupied in virtual war'?"

"She was participating in the pencil ballistae war between Ascension City and Elendeth City."

"Oh," Jace sighed. He looked woefully at the door. _I'm so bored._

"Hey Jace!" Michael and David threw the door to his dorm open just as he had stated to doze around an hour later. Jace jumped and glared at them, "Can you not?!"

"Sorry," Michael smiled sheepishly.

"It's the middle of the day so we didn't expect you to be asleep," David explained.

"I wasn't asleep. I was just dozing," Jace snapped.

"It's warm in here," Michael muttered.

"That has nothing to do with this!" Jace snarled, "What do you two want?"

"We're going to be painting the outside of the school building tomorrow afternoon. Do you wanna help out?" Michael asked.

"You too Nix. Wanna help us paint the school building?"

"Isn't paint already banned?" Jace asked.

Michael and David shrugged, "We can't let on to the fact that we actually have a goal with our pranks."

"I am surprised the principal-"

"She kicked us out of the school," Michael interrupted Nix.

"We aren't allowed back until the start of class tomorrow," David added.

Jace shook his head, "Sure. I'll help paint the school building. Hey, how much Play-Doh do you guys have?"

"How much do you need?" Michael asked.

"A lot," Jace said, "I mean if we're going to break rules everyone might as well be involved. If only a couple of kids are causing trouble then it won't make an impact. If every kid is a 'problem' then it's not the kids that are the problem. It's the system they're in."

"Good point," Michael and David exchanged glances, "We need to get organized then."

Jace rolled his eyes. _I start PE tomorrow. Why? I don't like PE._ "Do you guys have PE?"

"No. But we had it last year."

"What's it like?"

"That depends on which teacher you have," David admitted.

"The football coach," Jace muttered.

"Oh. He's cool," Michael shook his head, "It's the TI teacher you have to worry about."

"TI?" Jace asked curiously.

Michael nodded.

"She's a former military recruit trainer person turned PE teacher. She's cool but expects someone to perform to their highest ability," Michael said, "So half-assing the class is...impossible if you don't want to get screamed at."

"Okay then," Jace nodded, "Who's in the class before lunch? Do you know?"

"Onyx, Erin, Melody, Derek. Avoid Derek if you can. He hangs out with the student council president but he's not the nicest person in the world," Michael said.

"Whisper's in there too," David added, "and Alex. He's like Derek but a little nicer. Otherwise I've got no clue. The football coach is pretty cool. You can expect him to give you challenges like catching a fly with chopsticks or whatever. They're fun."

"Alright," Jace sighed. He glanced at the twins, "One more thing."

"Hm?"

"What's the best way of repaying Chandra for being a pain?" Jace cocked his head to the side.

"Slip the sour candy spray into her food," David suggested.

"I'd rather not do something that obvious. Something I can do while she's asleep," Jace said.

"Ice bucket!" Michael grinned.

"I don't want her to kill me," Jace said.

"Um…then that's something a little more creative," Michael paused to think.

"I've got nothing. She's pretty violent and easy to piss off," David said.

"You guys are no help at all," Jace muttered.

"Dye her hair," Nix suggested, "Do something that will put her in a relatively deep, restful sleep. No one responds to subtle outward stimuli when they are deeply asleep. Then dye her hair."

Jace looked at her in surprise, "I didn't know you could play the part of the trickster."

Nix shrugged.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "She might kill me but she'd have to catch me first and...since she was asleep I can deny that it was me."

"We'll be your scapegoats," David grinned.

"I mean it's not like we haven't already had the snot beat out of us by her before," Michael shrugged.

"I'm holding you two to that," Jace said earnestly, "I don't plan on being roast alive because of this."

"She can't roas-"

"Yes she can," Jace nodded, "She doesn't need to be able to manipulate the fire to have the fire. In case you hadn't noticed she's started carrying around a lighter."

"Good point," David nodded.

"That it?" Michael asked, "We promised to get Melody some cookie cutters so she can make cookies."

"She can cook?" Jace asked instantly.

Michael nodded, "She can bake pretty well. I'm not sure if she can do anything else."

"Oh." Jace shrugged, "Alright."

The twins left the room, closing the door behind them.

Jace looked at Nix, "I want her to make dinner. I'm tired of spaghetti and instant ramen."

"Of course," Nix nodded dutifully.

Jace sighed, "How much longer do I have?"

"Just under 23 hours."

"Dammit," Jace sighed, "Can I please hav-nevermind. Can you go tell Michael and David to get blue and white permanent hair dye?"

Nix nodded, "Of course. I will tell Melody that you want her to make dinner on the way."

"Thanks," Jace sighed. _And tomorrow I'm helping to paint the outside of the school building._ "Remind them to get Play-Doh too!"

"Of course."

"And I'll be making Play-Doh sculptures. Because clay is overrated. And not banned yet," Jace shrugged and smirked. _Maybe I can get Nix to help me since she's the one that suggested it._ Jace found himself grinning excitedly. He wasn't entirely sure he could put Chandra to sleep. She was resistant to that sort of thing for some reason. He still hadn't managed to figure out how but she was. But he was going to try. He was going to get her back for leaving him bored and trapped in his dorm room for nearly three whole days. The time he spent with Nix the less he minded her her dutiful obedience to the exact orders she's given was annoying and not something he was entirely comfortable with. _I'll let Chandra know that she has to keep a very close eye on her before the wrong person starts ordering her around. I don't want her to be hurt at all. I'll leave a note on her dresser when I dye her hair. I'm an idiot but I'm going to do it. If only because she's a pain. It's payback for everything she's done to annoy me._ He couldn't help but smile. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the way he felt at the moment but decided to ignore it.

Nix came back a few minutes later, "Your ice cream is completely melted."

"Oops," Jace shrugged.

"I will give it to Jenny and get you another bowl," Nix picked up the bowl and carefully carried it away.

Jace smiled, "Hey Nix."

"Hm?"

"Thanks. Don't tell me there's no reason to thank you because there is reason," Jace said as Nix opened her mouth. She shut it again and stared at him in confusion. Jace sighed, "The fact that you've helped me is reason enough for me to thank you. Even if you are helping me on someone else's request."

Nix nodded, "You are welcome then." For the first time since he had started interacting with her he saw something resembling happiness in her deep violet eyes, "I will get Melody to give us a couple of the cookies she's already made then." She disappeared out the door with the bowl of melted ice cream.

"Dammit Nix." Jace sighed, "Just because I can only eat and sleep does not mean that you have to stuff me stupid with food." He laughed.


	19. Chapter 19

Chandra yawned and looked out the window. Dread filled her stomach. Physical storm clouds gathered around the mountains. If it rained they'd have to wait for the walls to dry to paint the school. That wasn't what kept her awake. She glanced at Lilianna's back. She sighed. The necromancer appeared to be asleep but Chandra wasn't positive. She shook her head, "Can't sleep. I'm gonna take a walk."

"Shut up redhead. I'm trying to sleep here."

Chandra smirked, "Alright." She left the door quietly. The teachers were easy for her to avoid. She walked out into the night. The air smelled strongly of rain and she looked out at the mountains again, "Great." _Darkness_ _comes with chains of hope and the phoenix shall cease to be._ Chandra sat down on top of the wall that separated the school from the city. The city lights glowed brightly all around her. The school was two blocks from the rift that would occasionally open so the more combat experienced students could leap into action quickly. It had ripped open a few months ago but was closed up again. If no outside force opened it then closing it would require someone to sacrifice themselves to close it. She sighed, "That can't be it. There are creatures that deal in false hope but that's not the same thing. Orriyon would've differentiated between hope and false hope." _I don't get it._

"Maybe time is the only answer you need."

"Kurai," Chandra growled angrily, "What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be looking after your summoner? Demon."

"My summoner is fine and has requested I leave him alone," Kurai stood on the wall next to her, "And the angel's are getting too...nosy."

"Nosy? Michael and David are nosy anyway," Chandra muttered.

"I've enjoyed watching them slowly lose their maturity over the millennia," Kurai smirked, "but I'm not here to talk about Michael and David." He knelt down in front of her.

Chandra glowered at him, "Then what are you here to talk about? Demon."

"I'm only here to help, Pyromancer."

"I wouldn't believe that in a life or death situation," Chandra snarled.

"Do you not have any faith in Jace's judgment? He did decide to summon me after all. I left it completely up to him."

"Then what are the terms of your contract?" Chandra asked icily.

"He get's to use my telepathy as his own until he can figure out how to do it for himself. I will destroy Xerxes when the opportunity presents itself. Unless someone else does so before hand. Also unless I break the rules of the contract I cannot be removed from the mortal realm by anyone but my summoner," Kurai smirked at Chandra's hiss of rage, "while any situation that would require him to fight unless he volunteers to do so will be dealt with by myself instead. If he volunteers I will assist him though that is not within the terms of the contract." He watched the redhead carefully, "Satisfied?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Sure." She got to her feet, "I don't see why you would be interested in me. Demon."

"It is not as much an interest as it is a desire to understand. There is something about you, Pyromancer, that prevents any form of mental stigma to take affect. No spell targeting your mind will remain in place for very long. Every single mental attack will flow right past you no matter how powerful. Even the most powerful of telepathic entities cannot overcome your willpower. It will leave you with a headache at best. Why is that?"

"Like I know," Chandra snapped. She glared at him, "You have your answer. Now screw off."

"I'd rather not," Kurai rose to his feet. He was taller than her by quite a bit but he knew better than to assume that would intimidate her in the slightest. He'd watched he from the Outer Edge of the largest realm. She was a force to be reckoned with and was intimidated by nothing. Even if it was taking on two elder dragons with exponentially more power than she could dream of possessing, "I'm surprised you're willing to put so much aside for the sake of the multiverse, Pyromancer. I thought floated on your whims. What did the multiverse do for you?"

"I live in it dummy," Chandra glared at him, "I'd rather-"

"But you could stay here. At least two of your allies would almost prefer if you did," Kurai pointed out.

"They can stay if they like. I don't fancy staying here," Chandra snarled, "God. Leave me alone from now on got it."

"Are you warning me that speaking with you might be hazardous to my health?" Kurai smirked.

"Well...since you obviously haven't broken the terms of your contract you can't be sent back unless Jace wants to. That means that I can harm you and torture you for however long I like without losing my plaything," Chandra sneered.

"That does sound unpleasant. But I wonder," Kurai met her gaze. Her orange eyes were bright with anger. He smirked, "Would you really?"

"Of course I would!"

"Knowing that I've managed to earn at least minimal amounts of Jace's trust and that I could be of help to you?" Kurai asked.

"You really think that'll stop me?" Chandra snarled.

"I wouldn't know," he shrugged innocently, "you haven't done it yet though."

Chandra gritted her teeth, "I have more important things to do than deal with your unwanted antagonizing,"

"So you won't?" Kurai asked.

"Dammit Kurai. Just go away," Chandra snarled. _I was thinking before you decide to stick your nose where it doesn't belong._

"And maybe the answer you're looking for is time. Not everything is clear in the moment," Kurai shrugged. He jumped off the wall and landed lightly in the courtyard of the school campus.

Chandra growled, "I'm sure any of my friends can tell you that messing with me is a bad idea." She lit her hand on fire and sent the flames shooting along her body. The flames didn't burn her but did give her a frightening visage. She turned to Kurai and glared down at him. The demon's eyes widened but he didn't back away from her. He nodded slightly and turned. He walked away from her and back towards the boy's dorm building. She sat back down and stared at the clouds gathering over the mountains silently for some amount of time.

"Chandra? Are you alright?" Alice walked up to the seething redhead worriedly.

"I'm fine," Chandra sighed, "Someone just decided it would be a good idea to bug me."

"Oh," Alice climbed the wall and sat next to her, "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Chandra asked.

"Why is the world so unfair to people that...look different?"

"You're asking me?" Chandra shrugged, "I don't know. Why?"

"Everyone in Elendeth has been telling me I look like Jace. It's just because of the ears and the tail. I have human eyes, unlike him. My hair's a lighter shade than his and his eyes are blue. Mine are-"

"Purple," Chandra nodded, "I know. I noticed that. Two things. One, I'm sure he gets the same thing from your peers from Ascension City. Two, is this just coming from you being uncomfortable with being compared to him?"

"We're nothing alike!" Alice insisted, "He's strong and fast and-"

"You're strong. You're fast. You both read books. You both have an ingrained distrust of others. And you both come to me with your problems. Well if he comes to me with his problems voluntarily then I'll be appalled, so never mind that one," Chandra shrugged, "Just because you're compared doesn't mean you are the same."

"I'm not stro-"

"You are," Chandra insisted, "in a different way. Not everyone has the same strengths. We've been over this."

"I know but I can't help but see myself as weak. I can't do anything. Everyone else they're special. All I have are cat ears and a tail," Alice stared at her hands.

"And?" Chandra looked at her, "They look cute to me."

"That's not the point," Alice glared at her.

Chandra smirked, "Ah, but it is."

"What?"

"You obviously can't see beyond the qualities others have that you lack," Chandra looked the girl over carefully, "What don't you like about...Jace?"

"Don't like?" Alice looked at her in surprise, "Well...nothing really."

"Even his insistence that you are not his friend and will never be his friend?" Chandra asked.

"That's to be expected-"

"I'm not asking you to think about this logically," Chandra said, "You're obviously _feeling_ inadequate."

"It does hurt a little to hear him say it," Alice whispered.

"What else?" Chandra asked.

"He's always so cold with us. He hasn't spoken to any of us without us approaching him and beginning a conversation with him. Whatever conversation is started he ends quickly. It's like he doesn't want to interact with us."

"Ah, so obviously everyone has flaws. He's running from his past and you are a part of it," Chandra shrugged, "You're running from your past by reading all of your books. I haven't seen any one of you eat once. And yes that and the people you surround yourself with has allowed me to figure out who you share a past with."

"You're so good at reading people. How?"

"Well...I have no idea," Chandra shrugged. "Anyway, no changing the subject. Don't you think it'd be fair to try and look at yourself in a positive light? Instead of focusing on what you can't do try and come up with something you can do. And if someone can help you do it all the better. Just because you can do what someone else can doesn't make you any less. It means you can help all of your friends out. Kay?"

"Alice. There you are," Isabelle stood below them in the courtyard. Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were narrowed in anger that was sparked by worry, "Next time you disappear like that at least tell Cristi where you're going. You've had us worried sick."

Alice's ears flattened in shame, "Sorry."

"Jesus, don't take my anger seriously," Isabelle snapped, "I'm just worried about you. You don't have to look at me like that. C'mon. We've even had the boys helping us look. Jenny'll have to tell Erin that we've found you."

"Even the Elendeth kids helped out?" Alice asked in surprise.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Jeez. You'd think the city wasn't known as the most accepting haven in the world. Of course we helped out. You Ascension City kids are part of our family for the year you know."

"Oh," Alice's cheeks flushed.

"My god," Isabelle rolled her eyes motioned for Alice to come down from the top of the wall, "you take everything way too seriously. You all do. I know getting in trouble isn't comfortable for you but learn to read when someone's actually mad at you. It'll help you a lot." She looked up at the redhead that was sitting on the wall, "You should probably take your own advice Chandra. Just because everyone comes to you doesn't mean you have no one to come to."

Chandra nodded, "Of course."

Isabelle's eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't say 'of course' if you seriously meant it."

"Fine. Fine," Chandra rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Isabelle didn't fully believe her but decided that she'd bug the pyromancer later. She nodded and led Alice back to the girls' dorms.

Chandra got to her feet and looked out at the storm that came ever closer. She narrowed her eyes, "I've got stuff to do." She dropped off the wall and darted into the city.


	20. Chapter 20

"Cat Ears. C'mon. Kyle and Rick want to talk to you," Ral said.

"Who's Kyle?" Jace asked harshly.

"You don't have to be a jerk just because I woke you up you know," Ral whined.

"Shut up and answer my question," Jace snapped.

"Kyle's an Ascension City kid," Ral shrugged, "I don't know anything else other than the fact that he's pretty cool."

"Well then tell them I don't want to talk," Jace crossed his arms over his chest.

"Cat Ears you are so cold."

"I don't know Kyle. I don't want to talk to him."

"What about Rick?"

"Don't want to talk to him either," Jace said.

"You have to go to school you know," Ral pointed out, "Elspeth will be mad if you don't."

Jace growled, "I'll go to school but there's still thirty minutes until then."

"Cat Ears! C'mon. They just want to see how you're doing," Ral whined.

"Then tell them I'm fine."

"I'm not playing go between," Ral snapped, "You tell them that."

"I don't know Kyle and I don't want to talk to Rick," Jace repeated.

"Cat Ears. I'm going to play go between," Ral sighed. He got to his feet and left the room.

"He isn't coming then?" Rick asked.

Ral shook his head.

"C'mon," Kyle whined, "I don't want to miss breakfast just to talk to him."

"C'mon Kyle. Erin can give you something to eat in class," Rick said.

Jace's eyes narrowed. He had a creeping suspicion that Ral was plotting something and somehow Rick and somehow Rick and Kyle were involved. He turned to the window, "Kaious please don't eat all the crackers again."

"I won't," the baby dragon promised.

"Thank you," Jace muttered, somewhat perturbed. He jumped out his window and landed in the tree. He slid down the tree to the ground. The ground opened suddenly beneath him and he dropped into a pit higher than he was tall. He landed in a crouch and looked up, "The hell was that?" He growled in frustration. _The ground was solid when I landed on it. Someone has the ability to manipulate the make up and form of the ground. The Ascension City kids don't play fair. They all have some ability or other and it makes them difficult to deal with._ He looked around. The rocks around him were completely smooth. He wouldn't be able to grip them at all and he wasn't able to jump high enough to reach the lip of the pit. He did not plan on waiting for someone to help him either. He ran his fingers along the rock and his eyes narrowed. He could teleport to the top of the pit but that would be a waste of energy. He would as a last resort but not unless he could figure out a different way out.

"Hey Jace. Need help?" Rick looked down at him warmly. He knelt down at the edge of the pit.

Jace glared at him, "No. I don't need help but thank you for offering."

"You sure?" Rick asked curiously. He cocked his head to the side as he looked around.

"Kyle's your friend right?" Jace asked.

"Yeah."

"Tell him to make stairs in the wall," Jace said.

"Uh..." Rick rested his left hand around the left side and back of his neck, "Well I don't think he will."

"It's worth a shot anyway," Jace crossed his arms over his chest.

"God. You're spoiled Cat Ears. You act like you're above all of us," Ral knelt down on Jace's other side.

Jace glared at him through narrowed eyes, "I'm not accepting help from either of you so if that's all you're here for then you might as well leave." _I've run up smooth metal walls before but I always had something to jump off of. I don't here._ He looked around again.

"If you're going to keep ordering us around then I'm going to tell Kaechia that you're being rude," Ral said. He crossed his arms over his chest mockingly.

"Ral. Don't mock me. I am not putting up with you today," Jace snapped.

"I'm going to tell Kaechia," Ral got to his feet.

"Elspeth will kill you for not being in school!" Jace called after him.

"Kaechia will kill you for being rude Cat Ears. I think it's worth it."

Jace growled, "Really?" He looked around again. There was nothing but smooth rock. If he tried he'd slide right back down before reaching the lip of the pit. He might be able to reach it with one of his hands though. _Then I'd be able to pull myself up._ His eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Rick asked.

"Didn't I say I wasn't accepting any help from you?" Jace snapped without looking at him.

"Well yeah but-"

"I can get out myself," Jace insisted.

"What's going on?" Tessa walked up to Rick. Her red-orange eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the guilty look he gave her. She was able to make strategic decisions within the blink of an eye and her eyesight was easily twenty times better than the average human. Her purple hair was held out of her face with a white headband that she had gotten from Chandra on her second day in Elendeth city.

"Well, Kyle put Jace in a hole and he insists on getting out himself even though I've offered to help him multiple times," Rick explained.

Jace looked up. He recognized the purple hair and the red-orange eyes. Hawk's feathers decorated the left side of her head. He knew, unlike nearly every other student, that those feathers were more than decoration. They were just as attached to her head as his ears were to his. His eyes narrowed and he nodded to her curtly. He looked at Rick, "You're help is unnecessary so go to class or breakfast or whatever."

Rick looked at him in surprise. His tone had completely changed. He was no longer acting like a spoiled brat. He sounded serious and emotionless. Rick nodded and got to his feet. He smiled warmly at Tessa who nodded in response and left. Tessa knelt down next to the whole, "You know perfectly well Jace that we're all in different positions now. The fact that you choose to hide away everything around us especially is, one, hurtful and, two, unnecessary. We all understand that somethings are better left kept to ourselves." Just as she suspected he didn't even look at her. She got no sort of response out of him. She left to let him continue to try to get out of the hole Kyle had dropped him into.

Jace growled and glared at the wall of the hole he was in. _Of course some things are better left kept to ourselves. And I know that all of you know that._ He leaped from the wall of the hole to his left to the one on his right. With each impact he felt his feet skid against the smooth stone. He flipped and landed on solid ground outside of it. _I thought the past once left behind stayed where it belonged. Why the hell am I even here?_ He felt the ring in his pocket and sighed. _It's been so quiet. I don't know if that's because I don't have access to mana or he hasn't done anything. It worries me. It worries me a lot. Why the hell are we wasting time here? We've found two pieces. I need Chandra to give me the medallion so I can find the third. There's no reason we should be here any longer than necessary._ He walked into the cafeteria and looked around dully, "As I thought. Ral didn't actually go to Kaechia."

"Jace," Melody smiled warmly at him.

Jace cleared his face and looked at her, "Huh?"

"I made these for you," she held out a plastic tub filled with chocolate chip cookies. Jace looked from them to her and back again, "Why?"

"Well..." Melody shrugged though she did lower her head so her almost silver blond hair hid her face from him, "I wanted to."

Jace took them and then looked at her curiously, "Why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged and darted off.

Jace sighed, "Thanks." He was nearly positive she didn't hear him. _"You're acting like you're above all of us"_ Ral's words echoed in his head. The lightning mage had sounded fed up. _I guess I am. Maybe…maybe...I just don't want you getting too close._ He shrugged and studied the tub of cookies. _I've never even talked with Melody before. Why would she do this? "Just because you don't talk to someone doesn't mean they don't care"_ Jace gritted his teeth. He turned and left the school building. _I'm going to figure out how to find the third piece without the medallion. She won't give it to me even if I ask nicely._ He darted to the boys' dorm building. He set the tub of cookies down on his desk and pulled the ring out of his pocket.

"Who're those from?" Kaious asked. He cocked his head to the side, "I thought you were going to school today."

"This is more important. School doesn't matter."

"But you promised Michael and David that you'd pain the school building with them today," Kaious reminded him.

"I'll just get Ral to tell them something's come up," Jace shrugged.

"Ral's at school," Kaious reminded him, "They're painting the school right after school."

"Then I'll just be mysteriously absent," Jace shrugged.

"Jace. You-"

"I can't do it alright!" Jace glared at him angrily. He sighed and sat on his bed. He pushed himself back until he felt the wall against his back. The room was cool. Ral had turned the air conditioning up before leaving apparently. Instead of studying the ring like he had planned he clenched his fist around it and pulled his knees up to his chest. He rested his arms on his knees and his head on his arms. _There are more important things to do. Why did I agree to that? Why did I help them in the first place? It's Michael and David. They don't need any help. They certainly don't need my help. What the hell am I doing here? There's no reason for this. I'm just allowing myself to be distracted by things like painting the school and trying to change the principal's philosophy. None of that even matters. As long as I can do what I need to do-_

"Jace."

Jace froze as a voice sounded through the door. It was Rick.

"Hey. Kyle wants to apologize," Rick hovered uncomfortably outside the door.

Jace remained silent. He lifted his head and stared at the door.

"Well...sorry," Kyle sounded earnest about it, "If you want we can get you something for lunch or something. I mean Rick's already paying for everyone else's lunch."

Jace remained silent. _I shouldn't feel this miserable just because I don't want to go with them. This is stupid._ He got to his feet and stood in front of the window. Instead of jumping into the tree he scaled the side of the building quickly. He sat on the roof and stared up at the grey clouds. _Hopefully it'll rain. They won't paint the school if it rains._ He stared at the ring in his hand, "There are more important things to do." He forced himself to go numb before rising to his feet. The wind threatened to throw him off the edge of the building but he ignored it. He looked down into the courtyard many, many stories below. It was completely empty. All the students would be in class by now. Rick and Kyle were just returning to the school building and hadn't seen him. He dropped from the roof, sliding his shoes against the wall to slow down his decent.


	21. Chapter 21

"Echo. Do you have a moment?" Chandra asked through the door.

"Maybe. Why?"

"I want you to look at something for me and I wanted to talk to you about something," Chandra said.

"Alright. Come in."

"Why do you sound so pissy anyway?" Chandra asked as she opened the door.

"Someone never returned my communicators because something came up. That friend of yours hasn't returned them either," Echo snapped.

"You're still mad about that?" Chandra asked in shock.

"So what if I am?" Echo shrugged, "What do you need?"

"I want you to see if this has been archived as occurring yet," Chandra gave the blue haired woman the piece of paper with Orriyon's prophecy on it.

"Let's see. 'Darkness comes with chains of hope and the phoenix shall cease to be'?" Echo shook her head, "Never heard this one before."

"I asked you-"

"I know. I know," Echo shot the redhead a glare, "I'm not the only one that's pissy you know."

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"What's up with you anyway?"

"A storm's coming and it's agitating me."

"Afraid to get wet?"

"I don't mean a literally storm," Chandra snapped.

"Then you're referring to the sourceless pressure that's been hanging over the city for a while now," Echo nodded.

"Yes," Chandra nodded.

"Well...I'm sure whatever it is you can handle it. You can't be predicted. Even by Orriyon."

"I didn't tell you that was from Orriyon," Chandra muttered.

"She's the only person I've ever met that rights prophecies in baby blue ink," Echo said evenly.

"The pressure hasn't resolved itself yet and that worries me," Chandra admitted.

"Of course it does. Honestly Phoenix. I'm sure you can handle whatever comes your way. You're an immovable force," Echo shrugged.

"And if I'm not?"

"Are you doubting yourself _now_?" Echo looked at her in shock.

Chandra shrugged, "Maybe. Suddenly everyone thinks I'm there leader. They haven't said anything but I can tell and I'm not a leader. I can-"

"What?" Echo stared at her. She smacked either side of the redhead's face.

Chandra squeaked and glared at her angrily, "What was that for? I didn't do anything to you! You-"

"There's Phoenix," Echo sighed, "I was worried for a moment." Echo shook her head and continued more seriously, "Really? How many people have you yelled at for saying they can't. When have you ever doubted whether or not you could reach your goals?"

"Well," Chandra looked away from her, "I don't want anyone to die. I've made too many connections to be able to protect them all."

"Seriously? And who said you'd be the only one protecting them?" Echo slid her hand under Chandra's chin and turned her face so she was looking at her, "You're remembering Dove aren't you?"

Chandra paused for a moment before lowering her gaze and nodding.

"Her death was not your fault. Just as anyone else's death was not your fault."

"Echo. I've never been able to be there for anyone when they needed me most. I was never there. They all died because I wasn't fast enough," Chandra snarled.

Echo resisted the urge to widen her eyes. The redhead was crying. She wasn't look at her but Echo could hear it in the way her voice quavered. She could see it in the way the redhead clenched her teeth. Echo smiled, "You and you're stubbornness Look. The past doesn't matter. With a younger age and mind it's sure to come up but it's already done. There is nothing you can do about what happened in the past. What you can do is take care of yourself, hone your skills and learn new abilities, and do everything you can to protect the people that are here now. How are you supposed to protect them if you're distancing yourself from them."

Chandra wiped her eyes with the back of her head, "You're right. I'm dumb. Sorry."

"You're not dumb and you better be sorry. No you're prophecy is not in the archives as having been fulfilled. You've gotta be prepared for whatever might be coming then," Echo shrugged. She smirked, "And I don't see what sitting around feeling sorry for yourself is doing to prepare you for whatever Orriyon's hinting at."

Chandra nodded, "Right." She got to her feet, "Oh yeah. And the other thing, because a pep talk was not what I came here for, have you managed to pick up any espers?"

Echo shook her head, "No. Not yet. The systems are still scanning however so I'll let you know."

Chandra nodded, "Alright." She left.

Echo looked at the screen. She knew she had just lied to the redhead but if she found out she'd raise hell. That wasn't what anyone needed right now. The scan had picked up one esper. Chandra herself was the original.

Chandra walked the two blocks to the house where Elspeth and the others lived. Kaechia was sitting outside playing with a couple of kids. Chandra stopped in front of her and smiled, "I didn't know you had kids."

"Your teasing is not appreciated," Kaechia smiled up at her, "Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"I've come to give something to Elspeth," Chandra shrugged.

"Ah. Is it important?" Kaechia asked.

Chandra nodded. She smirked, "Have fun with the kids." She walked into the house. The living room was empty. She took a deep breath. "ANYBODY HOME?!" _That should get their attention. Damn. I didn't know I was that loud._ She watched as Gideon came downstairs holding what looked to be a TV. He set it down on a shelf, "Chandra. What-" His voice became hard, "You're supposed to be in school."

"I need to talk to Elspeth," Chandra lifted up the piece of paper with Orriyon's prophecy, "and I'm working so school can wait."

Gideon sighed, "Elspeth! She needs to talk to you."

"Alright," Elspeth responded.

"What are you guys doing anyway?"

"Reorganizing," Kallist sighed, "Gideon decided he didn't like the way the house was set up before now so we're redecorating."

Chandra snickered, "Glad I have a dorm."

"You'd be at school right now whether you had a dorm or not," Gideon said. His voice was hard as stone though it wasn't without warmth.

Chandra remained unfazed and stuck her tongue out at him. Elspeth approached her through the kitchen. Nissa seemed to have attached herself to the knight because it wasn't long before she followed.

Chandra held out the piece of paper, "You should know who it's from." Her gaze remained fixed on Elspeth.

Elspeth pressed her lips together, "Alright. If you're working then get back to it. If you're done then get to school. And if you see Jace or Ral tell them to come here. After school but one of them at least isn't there."

"Great," Chandra nodded. She left the house. She wished Kaechia goodbye before returning to the school. Finding Ral was easy. He was in his second class. Chandra hovered awkwardly in the doorway. Mr. Spencer was reading out loud to his class. She cleared her throat, "Hey. Uh...sorry. Can I see Ral for a minute?"

Ral cocked his head to the side.

"Of course," the teacher nodded.

She was suddenly really glad she was a part of student council. It would've been a lot harder to convince that teacher of all the teachers to let her talk to Ral otherwise. She lead Ral a little way away from the classroom, "After school Elspeth wants to see you."

"But-"

"It's going to rain. The paint will have to wait," Chandra fell silent for a moment, "Hear that? That is the sound of the first drops of rain falling. The paint will have to wait."

Ral nodded, "Why does Elspeth want to see me?"

"You can guess because I have no idea," Chandra shrugged.

"Beautiful. I don't want to guess. I'm gonna be worried all day because of you," Ral whined.

"Shut up and go back to class," Chandra pushed him, somewhat gently, towards his classroom. She turned and walked down the halls.

"Chandra," the most friendly security guard shook his head at her, "you do realize you're supposed to be in class?"

"I'm actually running an errand for the Black Lotus Hotel," Chandra smiled sweetly, "Sorry."

"You run errands for the hotel?" the guard, Mr. Jake, raised an eyebrow. He shook his head in amusement, "How am I not surprised? I'll let it pass since you are working but you'll be in class tomorrow."

Chandra nodded.

Finding Jace proved to be a lot harder than she had anticipated. He was avoiding her. He knew she was looking for him and was avoiding her like the plague. She growled in frustration as she barely missed him for the thousandth time. "So he was just here and left a couple minutes ago?"

The Starbucks employee nodded, "Yeah."

"Dammit. Dammit Dammit," Chandra continued to curse as she left the building. She looked around, being sure to take in every little detail around her. She growled and returned to Elspeth, "Is Jace here? Echo wants me to find him and he's not at school."

"He's not here that we know," Nissa said.

"Of course not." _Of course they don't know if he was here._ "Mind if I scour the place for anything out of the ordinary?" Chandra asked.

Nissa shrugged, "Sure. Gideon's gone to get some decorations and Elspeth took Kaechia and is getting us lunch."

"Alright," Chandra shrugged. She started with the area around the couch that Jace had slept on before starting school. Slowly but sure she scoured the entire house and made a list of everything of Jace's or that Jace would see as important that was missing. _His skateboard and a box of crackers. Damn. He's planning on being out for a little bit then. And he's completely prepared to move faster than I can._ Her eyes narrowed, "Alright." She left the house after meticulously putting everything back where it had been before she trashed it. Dealing with one of Gideon's conniption fits was not on her agenda for the day. _What the hell is he doing anyway? And why would he be so insistent on-never mind. That question has a simple answer. He's being an idiot and doesn't want me finding out about it. Therefore if I just can't find him in general the problem's suitably avoided._ Her eyes narrowed and she smirked, "You're playing hide and seek with an assassin, Buddy. You won't be able to hide forever."

Chandra made her way back to the hotel, "Echo!"

"Huh?"

"I'm tracking down an elusive target and need technological assistance if you please," Chandra smirked.

"How elusive?" Echo asked as she went digging through her somewhat organized pile of all her spare technological creations.

"Jace elusive," Chandra said as though that was the only necessary explanation.

It was the only one Echo needed. She gave the pyromancer everything she could need plus everything she might maybe need in one of many possible situations.

"Thanks a million," Chandra knew how to work every device Echo gave her, having used them on multiple occasions. Maybe not these exact ones together but she's used at least all of them in some combination of technological equipment. She skipped down the stairs while she finished setting up the goggles that would allow her to see mana signatures as well as any other magical energy within a certain radius. She grabbed a cloak and pulled it over her shoulders. She pulled the hood up over her head and slid into the alleys behind the hotel. _I knew I hated hoods for a reason. This is awful._

Getting into Jace's room was easy. Ral had left the door unlocked in his last visit to the room. She pulled her hood off her head and shook her head in amusement. Two curtains divided the room in half. Jace's half was pretty much overrun with stuffed animals, no doubt from Ral, while Ral's half was littered with games, and pieces of technology, broken, working, or handcrafted.

"Chandra?" Kaious sounded wary.

"It's me," Chandra nodded at the dragon.

"You're here because Jace aren't you?"

Chandra shrugged, "Yeah." She noticed the box with that she had given to him on his birthday. Ral naturally had given him a stuffed animal in the middle of the night while Jace was sleeping and Lilianna had heeded Jace's wishes and left him alone. She walked over to it and noticed that the sapphire necklace was not there. Instead there was a necklace with an alexandrite inside. She pulled the goggles over her eyes and studied it. The enchantment wasn't very powerful but it was defensive in nature. It was however obviously from Lilianna. The enchantment on the pendant drew from the magical energy of the people around the wearer in a certain radius to maintain it's presence within the gemstone. The wearer was unaffected by the enchantment's draining effect. Chandra looked at Kaious and motioned to the necklace.

"It was from Lilianna and came with a Black Lotus money card," Kaious explained, "It didn't take long for Jace to identify the nature of the enchantment and he decided not to wear the necklace since the effects were activated automatically once the necklace was worn."

Chandra nodded. She closed the box, pulled the goggles onto her forehead and set the box back exactly where it had been. _He has a money card huh?_ "What about the sapphire necklace?"

"Last I knew he didn't wear it but it was in his jacket pocket," Kaious shrugged.

"And he's wearing that jacket?" Chandra assumed.

Kaious nodded, "The jacket is the only thing he took with him from here."

Chandra nodded, "Thanks Kaious."

"Can you talk to him. I'm worried," Kaious asked.

Chandra nodded, "Sure." _'I thought you lived your life by your standards. I thought you weren't tied down by any responsibilities or anyone else's demands or impressions of you'_ She closed the door and hissed through gritted teeth, "These are my standards. Demon." She pulled the hood over her face and darted down the stairs and out of the building.


	22. Chapter 22

Jace glanced over his shoulder and growled, "Damn." He pulled to a stop, picked up the skateboard Locke had given to him and started to run. _She's been following me for two days now. Doesn't she ever sleep?_ He hadn't returned to school since he'd left the morning of the day they were going to paint the building. Apparently Chandra hadn't either because that was how long she'd been following him. He growled. He dodged around people easily but ended up taking to the rooftops instead of trying to weave through the crowd. He knew Elspeth would kill him if she found out. That was probably why Chandra was following him. Elspeth had requested that she do so. He kind of felt bad for leaving Kaious behind but he had things he had to do and didn't want Kaious to get in trouble with him. Of course the dragon wouldn't have cared. Jace didn't care whether he cared or not. He wasn't going to let Kaious get in trouble especially not with Elspeth. As much as he denied it the blond haired knight was terrifying. He could admit that to himself easily enough. He didn't know why he couldn't admit it to anyone else but that wasn't important anymore. He was going to get off this world himself since he couldn't rely on the others to work with him to do so. He knew he was being illogical. Chandra was probably going to kill him for running. From the school and their company, because they were the ones that were best able to help him, and from the past that was coming back to haunt him. He didn't entirely care. He hadn't ever looked deeper into his past for a reason. _When the past is left behind it should stay there._

Jace dropped down to the ground and started skirting through the alleys. _Of course Chan-Phoenix called in her assassin friends to help her. I'm not going to be caught. It's_ _ **NOT**_ _happening._ He skirted into a small crevice in the alleys and crouched there. He was completely still. He closed his eyes so the fact that they reflect light wouldn't give him away. He listened carefully to the assassins that had been trying to catch him.

"Uh...Phoenix. He disappeared," he recognized Dragon by his voice.

 _You can't win hide and seek with someone who's been hiding all their life._ Jace crept backwards deeper into the street until the shadows of the buildings hid him completely. He opened his eyes and turned. His ears pricked in surprise when he heard what sounded like a cry of pain.

"Ow! Hey! That hurts!" There was silence for a moment. "Ow! Please! Stop!"

Jace found himself moving closer against his will. His curiosity pushed him onward against his better judgment. _Phoenix would not hurt someone just to trap me._ He took a deep breath and picked up his pace. He found himself standing in a fork between alleys. One led more right but still straight while the other led directly to his left. He waited for the cry to come again silently.

Whoever it was grunted as though they were thrown to the ground. They were to his left.

"That's right little one. Just keep quiet."

Jace heard a muffled cry of pain as though the person had been gagged or silenced in a similar matter. Phoenix was completely forgotten as he crept ever closer. He clearly saw three high school aged boys. One appeared seventeen while the other two appeared to be a year, maybe two younger. One of the younger ones held a much smaller but probably not younger boy. His hand was over the boys mouth and his other arm held the boy in a submission hold. The other younger one watched. He looked around in mixed fear and sympathy. He obviously felt bad for the boy that was being tormented but was too scared of the other two to speak out against them. Jace's eyes narrowed. He crept silently forward. Of course they were too enraptured in their fun to notice him. He shot forward with the speed and precision of a predator. He knocked the bigger one into the wall and used him to springboard around the boy they were tormenting into the one that was holding him.

The bigger one pulled a gun and grabbed the boy they were tormenting, "Don't move! Freak!"

Jace's blue eyes flashed, reflecting the minimal light around them. He rose calmly to his feet.

The big one pointed the gun at the boy he held, "I'll kill him if you take one step closer!"

Jace smirked, "Really?" He began to walk closer. His blue eyes were icy cold and emotionless. His smirk flattened into a dully unimpressed look. He continued to walk forward.

"Shoot it! Kill the freak!" The bigger of the three shook in fear as Jace continued to approach. His catlike ears flattened and his tail flicked back and forth. His face remained completely clear.

The one that had held the boy pointed a gun at him. The sound was deafening but Jace didn't need to hear. He flipped and caught the bullet in his hands before landing again. He rose from the neat perfectly balanced crouch he'd landed in and dropped the bullet beside him before continuing his advance. His gaze flicked over the boy, who seemed to be just as afraid of him as his tormentors. He looked at the larger boy that held him, "Let him go."

The boy pointed the gun at the kid's head again and shook his head, "Take one more step and I really will kill the kid."

"And if I kill you first?" Jace's voice remained icy cold.

Everyone else present shook with fear.

"Y-you wouldn't!" the bigger one said.

"Yeah! The Black Lotus would be on you in an instant!" The second one tried to sound strong and confident but his voice cracked with fear.

Jace looked casually over his shoulder, "The Black Lotus? Why would that worry me?" He leaped forward. He knocked the gun out of the bigger one's hand and knocked the back of his head into the wall behind him. The boy sank to the ground. Blood started to well from a wound that had opened in the back of his head. Jace turned away from him and flicked his hands, more for shock value than to get the blood off his hands. The other one pointed the gun at the kid they tormented and fired. Phoenix dropped in front of the kid and blocked the bullet. She pulled her goggles off of her eyes and lit her right hand on fire. The second kid fired at the kid again and again but Phoenix continued to block. Jace came at the kid from his side and knocked him to the ground. He didn't get back up.

"T-T-What was that?" the tormented kid stuttered in mixed fear and relief.

Jace blinked in surprise. He shrank away from the shocked looks he was getting and darted into the alleyway. _Dammit. This is why Kurai's supposed to take care of the fights. I don't even know if either of those kids is dead. I'm not going back to check. I'm kind of afraid of the answer._ His hands were bleeding from the bullet he had caught but that made it look like he was responsible for someone's murder. He felt bile rise in the back of his throat. Not all of the blood on his hands was his. He kept to the alleys and rooftops to avoid unwanted attention. He was fast. If he kept up the pace he was going at then he'd be out of the city by midnight. It was nearly three in the afternoon. Days here were getting shorter which did nothing but confuse him. He stopped long enough to wash his hands and get a new pair of gloves but otherwise he kept going. _Why did I even approach that situation?_ His mind raced. He felt dread and fear settle in his stomach, making him feel sick. _This is why I don't fight. I refuse to fight. What happened? How did... **it** surface again? It shouldn't have. There was nothing about the situation-_ Images flashed in his head, interrupting his thought.

 _Lucy cried in pain as she was thrown to the ground._

" _Looks like if you can't finish the group maze your project will be terminated." The metal door closed loudly._

 _Jace moved over to the wall where he'd hid a first aid kit. He did his best to treat the fox girl's wounds but his best was minimal. **A group maze? They won't be terminating her project. Or any of the others'. I won't let them.** He looked around dully. Everyone around him would be in the maze. The mazes were used to train them to react extremely quickly to any sort of situation. Every one was filled with dangerous traps as well as giant automata that could easily kill them should they be hit. The entire purpose is to successfully get to the end of the maze alive. Jace ran through mazes until he collapsed or they ran out of mazes. Whichever happened first. They used any method necessary to create the perfect superhuman soldiers and apparently he was the only progressing the way they wanted. That however meant that they wouldn't terminate his project even if he failed the group maze. They'd be expecting him to win but if he failed he was in much less danger than any of the others. His eyes narrowed. **Then I'll fail. If Lucy doesn't fail or gets far enough in then they'll allow her to live, though how long that'll last I have no idea.** He finished up with Lucy and hid the first aid kit away. He checked in on the baby dragon that he had found during his previous escape. He wasn't going to do that again that was for sure. He didn't want to connect to someone just to lose that person in an extremely violent and entirely unnecessary way a short time later. He didn't sleep but had learned extremely quickly how to believably look as though he was asleep. _

" _There can only be one winner. The goal is to get to the end of the maze. Destroy_ whatever _gets in your way."_

 _Jace had no idea who the person that spoke was but he could see him. There was a room above the mazes that was made nearly entirely of windows. It was impossible to reach and if someone successfully did so they would be killed on the spot. Jace hod no intention of dying. He could see everyone else that was going to running the maze with him. Some had names. Others didn't._

" _Begin."_

 _Jace knew that if any of them hesitated the walls would start to close in on them. He shot out of the entrance area and into the maze. Running through them was like second nature to him by this time. Whoever he didn't recognize was just an obstacle. They were either maneuvered around or removed from play. He didn't register whether or not he killed them. The details weren't important as long as they were out of his way._

" _Well, well. If it isn't the Director's prized Kitty Cat." Jace recognized Shade. The other boy wasn't his favorite person. In his grasp he held the little rabbit girl that had miraculously managed to survive this long. Jace had no idea how she did it but it probably had something to do with the fact that she was a rabbit. Shade had a Templar's sword in one hand and a malicious smirk on his face, "Think you can get to your precious little girl before I kill her, Kitty Cat?"_

 _Jace hissed._

" _Ah look. You actually do sound like a cat," Shade's smirk changed into a maniacal grin. Outside of the mazes the boy appeared perfectly sane but the death of his sister, the one and only person he cared for, and the fact that he had been told that he wasn't strong enough to protect her and that was she had died had driven him mad. He was itching to be at the top. In order to do so he had to remove Jace from his path. Jace wasn't going to let that happen. If Shade was on top then the others didn't stand a chance._

" _Ah. Ah," Shade squeezed the girl's neck harder, "Be still little one." He swung the Templar sword in the direction of the girl. He'd probably end up cutting his own arm off but that didn't matter to him. Jace leaped forward. He moved faster than the sword. He slid between Shade, the rabbit girl and sword and caught it. He slammed the back of his head into Shade's nose and kicked the sword out of his grasp. Jace let the sword clatter to the ground. It was too large for him to be able to comfortably use. He grabbed the rabbit girl and set her down a good distance away._

" _So you could!" Shade laughed coldly, "But there's a Templar on it's way. Can't you hear it? Can you protect her from both me and them without dying?"_

 _Jace's mind blanked. When he became aware again He saw Alice running down the maze hallway with the girl safely in her grasp. Shade was lying on the ground. He was bleeding and unconscious at the very least. He might just be dead. At least if he was he could return to his sister. Seven Raptors and three Templars were lying on the ground in broken piles._

Jace shuddered. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. According to what Kurai had gathered from Tessa's mind Shade hadn't died then. Apparently Isabelle had disintegrated him in an explosion of rage. He realized that he was standing outside the city. He recognized the area where they had landed and began to walk forward. He didn't really have a destination but away was good enough for him. Away from everything was good enough for him.


	23. Chapter 23

"I lost Jace," Chandra said. She was pacing. Something about the whole situation was weird. She had watched the whole thing, seeing no need to intervene as he had it covered. _Why would Kurai fight for him if Jace is perfectly capable of doing so?_ Suddenly she stopped.

"You stopped pacing," Lotus noted dryly.

"It makes sense now," Chandra said to herself. _He's not comfortable with it. He seemed to have no recollection of what had happened when his face cleared. He seemed just as shocked as us but then something like this must've happened before. That would explain how he had been able to infer what had happened based on the way we were looking at him._ "I have no idea where he went. He's not anywhere in the city that's for sure." She had opted to take the two boys that were still conscious after the incident home and personally swore them to secrecy instead of chasing after Jace.

"Just have Echo scan for him," Caedrus suggested unhelpfully.

"It's not that easy. A scan wouldn't be nearly as effective since he doesn't have access to mana. His signature would be weak if it was present at all," Chandra explained, "It would blend in with every other magical energy around him."

"Oh," Caedrus shrugged, "It was worth a shot."

Chandra shrugged.

"And maybe he just needs time alone to deal with it," Lilianna suggested irritatedly.

"And the problem with that is he won't deal with it," Chandra snapped. She turned and walked out of the dorm common room. She hurried to the hotel and stopped by Echo's tech lab. She knocked on the door.

"I've got nothing Phoenix," Echo said through the door.

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "Fine."

"Fine?" Echo opened to the door, "You aren't going to go look for him?"

"It'd be a waste of effort at this point," Chandra shrugged, "He has to come back of his own volition now." She turned and walked away, "Besides. All hell's breaking lose at the school anyway. Sometimes people are on there own because other things come up." She looked at Echo over her shoulder, "Keep me posted.

Echo nodded.

Chandra returned to the school.

Ral looked at her curiously.

Chandra shook her head, "He's long since gone."

Ral sighed, "Alright." _Of course Cat Ears will come back. He did last time he left. It is unavoidable and he will have stuffed animals waiting for him when he returns. And probably a lot of food from both Melody and Erin._ Ral snickered.

"Would all students please come to the auditorium," the principal's voice spoke over the intercom. The students filed into the auditorium in a completely disorganized mob. The principal was rubbing her temples as though she had a head ache then Ral walked in and sat down next to Rick and Erin.

"Alright," the principal shook her head, "I give. However, though I am repealing some rules I will not be loosening my grip on all of them. Foam swords and ballistae of any sort are still banned. And inappropriate use of any sort of utensil or material required for school activities will lead to trouble. That includes paint buckets, tape, writing utensils, paint in general, clay or Play-Doh, and everything else even if it isn't banned. Is that understood?"

"Understood doesn't necessarily mean it'll be obeyed," Rick whispered.

Ral shrugged, "I don't think she sees the difference there."

Erin choked back a laugh.

Every student nodded. Ral could see Michael and David plotting two rows in front of him. He smirked, "Watch her end up taking every single rule down because we just don't care."

Rick nodded, "Yeah. That would make sense."

Ral yawned and opened his eyes. A couple days had passed. The entire student body had pushed the principal to remove three more rules that she'd put in place. Last he knew she was lying on the office floor cursing her job. Of course that was nearly ten hours ago. He looked out the window. There was frost on the ground. He sat bolt upright, "It's nearly Halloween! They've had the decorations for it in stores for forever now!" He grinned excitedly.

"Ral," Kaious said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Do you think I should've followed Jace?"

"C'mon little guy," Ral walked over to Jace's side of the room and knelt down in front of the dragon, "Cat Ears isn't helpless and he'll come back eventually. He will. Once we get in enough trouble for him to find out he'll be back in a flash." He got to his feet. He doubted that would reassure the baby dragon. He seemed to know a lot more than Ral did. So did Chandra and Lilianna. Ral felt completely uninformed but he knew one thing for sure. Jace _would_ help them when they were in trouble. Even if he wasn't there in the beginning he would show up in time to save the day. Ral skipped down the stairs happily.

"You're happy," Onyx noted.

"I don't understand why everyone's so worried," Ral shrugged, "Ever since Cat Ears disappeared everyone's been down and I don't see why. I don't know much about Cat Ears but I do know that he will help us when we need it. Even if he's not there at first he'd be dead before he let anything bad happen to us."

"You seem pretty positive of that," Onyx nodded, "Alright."

Ral nodded and continued into the cafeteria. He saw Xerxes sitting with Claire. He had sat with them at first but once Melody started to become more interested in the group than him he left. Ral didn't mind. The older boy made his skin crawl. He sat down in front of Isabelle, "What kind of stuffed animal do you think Cat Ears would like? I'm running out of ideas and I'll end up defaulting to cats eventually. I don't think he likes it when I do that."

Isabelle shrugged and shook her head, "I have no idea. Why? He's not here-"

"He'll be back and I'm going to continue to get him stuffed animals until then because good friends annoy each other even when they are really far away from each other," Ral snickered. _He's going to be so damn frustrated if I cover his bed with stuffed animals. It'll be great!_ He looked expectantly at Isabelle.

"I don't know. I barely even saw him let alone talked to him," she shrugged again.

"A dragon!" Jenny squealed. She sat next to Ral, "Sorry I have no idea-"

"Perfect!" Ral grinned. He nodded to Jenny, "That's perfect. I'll get him a stuffed dragon!"

"He likes dragons then?" Isabelle asked.

Ral shrugged. He looked at Isabelle, "By the way who's the blond that's always hanging out with Kyle? I don't know him well but they seem to be roommates."

"The blond? Pyro?" Isabelle asked.

Ral nodded.

"Yuri. He's basically the leader of our group," Alice explained.

"Why doesn't he hang out with us then like you guys?" Ral asked.

"I have no idea," Alice shrugged, "He's always doing his classwork anyway so he wouldn't be very interested in conversation."

"Oh," Ral sighed. He got to his feet and left the cafeteria. He skipped down the halls towards the front door and left the school building. He hurried off the school grounds and headed to a nearby toy store. Finding the stuffed animal section was easy. A lot of adorable stuffed toys sat in shelves. All different kinds of creatures and plenty of other interesting things all sat there. Ral looked around, "Hm. Which one though?" _I should probably be in class instead of buying stuffed animals. Oh well. I'm sure Elspeth will understand. Why are Princess and Beautiful so tense anyway? It seems like when it comes to any kind of important decision making those two clash. Badly. Maybe it's because Beautiful's impatient and would rather have action than a pressure hanging over her while Princess would rather wait for something to happen instead of searching out trouble._ He sighed, "And they think I'm just a tinkerer that doesn't pay attention to what happens around him." He shook his head in amusement and bought a relatively large stuffed dragon. _Maybe next time I'll get him an eagle._ He returned to his dorm room and set the stuffed animal on Jace's bed. He sat on his side of the room and studied the technology around him. _What can I make out of you? Well given the pressure in the air I think something a little more interesting would be required just in case. I don't think just charging the small amount of magical energy I can muster into a relatively ball shaped mechanism is gonna work. This pressure's been building for nearly as long as we've been in school. When it finally resolves itself it's going to be big._

His eyes narrowed, "Maybe if I get something a little more recent then I'll be able to get something a little more effective." He got to his feet, "Hey Kaious."

"Huh?"

"Look after things for me? I'm gonna be doing a lot of shopping." Ral slid out of the room without waiting for a response. He wandered the school building until he found who he was looking for. Michael and David were wrestling with what looked to be a steel plate that wouldn't bend. They were sitting in a storage room where the door was barely cracked open. Ral walked up to them and opened the door. He leaned over them curiously, "Having difficulties?"

"Sh!" David hissed, "We're working here."

"You're failing," Ral knelt down beside them, "Let me see." They reluctantly held the plate out to him. Ral studied it, "What do you want it to do?"

"We want it to be slightly domed," Michael said, "So that it'll fit over a doorknob without fitting the doorknob directly."

"Ah," Ral nodded. With a little bit of energy he created a shock that warped the metal into a slight dome, "Like that?"

The twins nodded, "What's up?"

"Can I borrow the money car. I need to buy some stuff that's a little to expensive for my funds alone," Ral explained.

Michael handed it to him, "Sure. What're you getting?"

"A whole bunch of stuffed," Ral grinned. _Ah shit. How am I gonna get it back here? I can't carry all of it._

"Talk to Onyx then," David said, "He'll get you a ride."

Ral nodded, "Thanks." He got to his feet and turned to walk away. He paused and turned back to him, "I'm just going to call you two Tweedledee and Tweedledum." He turned and walked away snickering as the two of them began to argue over who would be Tweedledum. He skipped down the hall. Finding Onyx proved to be easy as well. The two of them shared Mr. Rice's class for the first class of the day. He hovered outside the room. He pulled paper out of his backpack and started throwing bits of it at Onyx until he had the blue haired kid's attention. He motioned for him to come to him.

Onyx sighed, "Sir. Can I go refill my water bottle?"

"Sure," Mr. Rice nodded. He shook his head in amusement. He was pretty positive he was really doing something for Michael and David given the bits of paper that had been flying into his room for the past two minutes.

"What do you need?" Onyx asked.

"I need you to take me to a technology store. I'm going to buy it out."

"And you need to be able to get it back without killing yourself," Onyx assumed.

Ral nodded.

Onyx sighed, "Fine. Where to?"

"Uh…wherever," Ral shrugged, "As long as it has up to date computers and phones I don't care."

"Alright," Onyx pulled his keys out of his pocket and led the way to his copper van. He was the oldest and most mature of the entire group and was often in charge of all the group's transportation needs. Ral sat in the passenger's seat of the car and Onyx started it up, "How much are we buying exactly?"

"Enough that I can just take it all apart and make something amazing."

"Alright, you might want to talk to Kyle about an extra storage room somewhere around here," Onyx said.

"Good point," Ral cocked his head to the side, "After we get back then."


	24. Chapter 24

Jace sat on the ground and stared up at the sky. It was dark and cold. He didn't like being cold. He didn't know where he was but that didn't bother him. _What am I doing? I'm an idiot. I have to find the third piece of the treasure._ He pulled the ring out of his pocket and studied it. It glowed with a dull light. It provided enough light for him to see by but no more. He looked around. It looked like he had stopped on someone's farmland now that he could identify the plants that were around him. Long tall fields of corn and wheat rose in front of him. He was sitting near a small group of apple trees. He got to his feet and sat beneath one. He couldn't see the mountains anymore so he assumed he was pretty far away from Elendeth City. He sighed and stared at the ring. The aura of the object was very much similar to the aura he'd picked up from Michael and David but much, much more powerful and yet much more subtle at the same time. _It'd be easier to concentrate if I wasn't so tired._ He looked around dully, "Well I guess it's as nice a place as ever." He put the ring back in his pocket and curled up under the tree.

"Is he alive?"

"I don't know. It looks like it though."

 _Great. Probably should've taken into account the fact that people probably lived around here._ Jace kept his eyes closed.

"Are the ears attached?" He felt a small hand brush against his ears. His eyes snapped open and he pulled away from them. He saw seven kids. Some looked related to each other while others looked like they came from a different family. The oldest appeared to be maybe a year older than him while the youngest was maybe three. He felt his back brush up against the tree trunk. _Ah damn._ He looked at them carefully.

"Well he's a live," one of the older girls said, "and it looks as though his ears are in fact attached."

"Does he understand us?" One of the younger boys asked. There were four boys and three girls. The boy that had spoken waved at Jace, "Hi."

"Uh," Jace waved back slightly, "Hi."

"Whoa! You're accent is weird!" the middle girl stared at him in shock. "Where are you from?"

"Uh," Jace realized he had no idea what kind of accents these people would be used to. He knew Elendeth was used to interesting accents but this place obviously wasn't. He looked around, "Well...uh. I've been in the US for as long as I can remember." He hoped they bought it because he had no idea how else to respond. The elder two kids didn't look like they believed him but remained silent. Jace sighed in relief as the questions on his origin ceased.

"Are you hungry?"

"How old are you?"

"Are those ears really attached?"

"Wow! You have a tail!"

"Really?"

"Why?"

Jace felt his head begin to spin as he was bombarded with question after question without being given time to answer properly. It was probably just after dawn if the lighting was anything to go by. The kids stood between him and the horizon though so he didn't know exactly.

"Alright. Alright," the eldest had to raise his voice to be heard over the chatter of his younger siblings, "He is obviously a little overwhelmed. Leave him be for now."

The oldest girl held out her hand to him, "Do you want to come to our house? You can take a shower and eat something at the very least."

"Yeah!"

"Please?!"

"It's been cool talking to you!"

"Yeah. C'mon!"

Jace was beginning to feel crowded and trapped. He gritted his teeth, "Fine. Fine. I'll come." He got to his feet and followed the kids as they led him through the fields of wheat and corn. In the distance he could see someone who appeared to be the kids' father letting the farm animals out of their nighttime homes and into the early morning sun. The family dog instantly came running for the kids as they approached. Jace's ears flattened but he remained calm. _Don't like dogs. I've never liked dogs._ It was a brown creature with relatively long fur though it was probably medium length for a dog. It growled at him but he just watched it dully. Sure dogs were loyal but they were entirely too incompetent for him to be able to put up with.

"Mom!" the eldest girl called.

"What is it?!" her mom came out of the house that they lived in with her hands covered in flour.

"Are we having _homemade_ biscuits for breakfast?" the youngest girls squeaked in excitement.

Their mother nodded, "Who's this?"

"We found him sleeping under one of the apple trees," the middle girl said.

"He has actual cat ears and a tail!" one of the younger boys said.

Jace cringed. _I'm sure she's noticed already._ He suddenly really wished he had a hood or the ability to create realistic illusions still. _Why did I agree to this again? I don't need their help. There's no point in-_

"C'mon!" the youngest two boys grabbed both of his arms and dragged him into the house. Jace growled softly but followed.

The oldest followed quickly, "Hey! You don't have to drag him around everywhere." He ruffled the two kid's hair.

"Alright, what's your name?" their mother asked.

Jace looked at her, "Amaryllis."

"A flower? A very pretty name for a boy," she nodded. She motioned to the kids eldest to youngest as she named them off, "This is Ruby, Jade, Emerald, Platinum, Silver, Quartz, Pearl."

Jace watched each kid welcome him in some way or another.

"Can I pet you?" Pearl asked. She was the youngest of the entire family and probably used to getting what she wanted. Jace knew he was assuming but every youngest child that he'd met was used to being spoiled. He sighed and knelt down in front of her.

"Your hair's soft!" she squealed. She was maybe four. Quartz was probably nine while Silver and Platinum were the youngest boys and appeared to be twins at the age of nine of ten. Emerald appeared to be twelve and had a perpetual frown on his face. Jace was probably fourteen and looked like the stern big sister type while Ruby was probably sixteen. He reminded Jace of Chandra's older brother in multiple ways but was also very much like Onyx.

Their mother returned to making the biscuits, "If you kids want to eat you better take care of your morning chores."

"Yes Mom!" The kids all scurried out of the house.

"You can help as well if you like," their mother said to Jace.

Jace shrugged and studied the floor, "I don't know. I didn't intend to stay here longer than one night."

"Are you a runaway?"

Jace paused. The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity, "You could say that. It's not like I had a family to begin with though." _I mean Chandra always said that the whole group was family even though we aren't related by blood. I don't know what it means to be in a family. I doubt she understands what a family is either. None of us really do. We were all orphaned at some point in our lives. That's what a planeswalker is, an orphan desperately searching for their own place in the multiverse._

"An orphan? Are you sure you don't want to stay with us? Pearl, Silver and Platinum are orphans."

"I don't know," Jace shrugged, "I might eat something if you don't mind me doing so." He felt so awkward. He hated asking people for anything. He didn't really know how to articulate a desire for help.

"Of course I don't mind!" the woman said as though the idea that she would mind was blasphemous.

"Who's this?"

Jace jumped and whirled around. The kids' father was a large, burly man. He was obviously strong and easily twice Jace's size. Jace felt his ears flatten warily and he stepped back. The man smirked and ruffled Jace's hair, "C'mon Kid. I wouldn't hurt a fly." His hand was definitely bigger than Jace's face and handily mess up Jace's already messy hair. Jace shook his head. Their father looked at his hand, "Those ears of your attached?"

Jace looked away from the man and didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a yes," the man looked at his wife, "Did he give you his name?"

"Amaryllis," she said simply.

"Amaryllis huh? That's a cool name. I'd give it to a girl first but as you can see our kids don't exactly have gender fitting names either," he flopped onto the couch, "Those biscuits smell like burnt sausage."

"The kids like them and they aren't poisonous so shut your trap," the woman snapped.

"I was teasing," he laughed.

She smiled warmly, "I understand that. Make yourself something if you don't like my cooking."

"You know I love your cooking. I'd burn the house down and we all know that."

"Only because you weren't taught to cook growing up." She looked at Jace, "If you want to there's games upstairs. You'll have to ask Ruby to use his PlayStation though."

"PlayStation?" Jace asked. _Like Ral?_ He walked up the stairs. It was easy to identify Ruby's room. The room was nice and neat with a quick glance but if someone looked deeper they could see how disorganized he was. The only thing that was organized was all the games he had. The walls of the room were red, in accordance to his name. Different game, TV show, and movie posters were hung up all over. Jace saw a PlayStation and an Xbox sitting on the floor near the TV that sat on an upside down crate. The crate smelled very faintly of apples, suggesting it was a crate the family had used to gather apples for themselves from the trees. _What the hell am I doing here? I was only going to sleep under the apple tree and then leave. Why am I still here?_ He wandered out of the room and through the halls. Outside Quartz's window he saw a small vegetable garden. This garden probably only supplied for the family while most of the crops grown in the farm were probably sold locally. He saw two cars in the driveway. One was a small sleek car while the other was a van, fit for holding seven kids. He wandered down the stairs just as their mother went outside to call them in for breakfast. He saw biscuits sitting in a pie pan on the table.

"You've got a glass of orange juice on the table," their father told him.

Jace looked at the table and saw all eight seats had a glass full of orange juice sitting just to the left of an empty plate. He blinked in surprise. _I guess I did ask them to feed me._ He sat at the head of the table that was closest to the door. He sighed as his legs swung. His feet barely scraped against the ground. _At least no one will be sitting next to me. Well...directly next to me._ The other kids crowded around and Ruby and Jace served up the biscuits.

Jace smelled it first feeling incredibly awkward. _What am I even doing here? Why am I still here again?_

"Can I call you Kitty?" Pearl asked, "Ama-Amaral-Amarel-"

"Sure," Jace shrugged. _I should probably leave right after eating._

"Hey! You guys wanna race horses after this?" Silver asked.

"I'd rather not. Horses are cool and all but I promised my friends I'd hang out with them after my morning chores," Quartz said haughtily.

Platinum stuck his tongue out at here, "Well we didn't want to ride horses with you anyway." He looked at Jace, "Have you ever ridden a horse?"

Jace shook his head slowly. _I'm not going to ride one thank you._

"Great! We'll teach him how to ride a horse instead," Pearl squeaked.

"Well-"

"It'll be fun!" Silver insisted, "Ruby's great! He'll make sure you don't fall."

"I wouldn't have to worry about falling in the first place if I just didn't do it at all," Jace kept his tone neutral so as to not appear mean. _Maybe I'm just being an idiot. Maybe I should go back to Elendeth and just act like nothing happened. But_ _ **they**_ _are there. I'll just wait until the end of the year. Then I'll go back. They should be gone by then. After all the guest students only stay for a year._


	25. Chapter 25

Chandra shook her head. Ral was amusing. He was so optimistic he was illogical. It was crazy. Apparently the school was preparing for yet another principal because the one they currently had, though she had lightened up enough that many of the students actually liked her was being relocated to a "more fitting school". Student council had yet to meet this third principal but Chandra knew it wasn't going to end well. The pressure in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. Half the student body was worried sick about Jace and the other half was pissed as hell that, after putting so much work into working with her, there was going to be another principal. Chandra had the sinking feeling that something more was at work here. The first principal was light with enforcing the rules. The second principal had started out strict but not cruel about the rules. The moment she had given in to the student body and the school returned to normal she was replaced. The new principal was scheduled to arrive later that day though they would not begin their job for another week.

"Redhead," Claire snapped, "Are you paying attention?"

"Of course, O Great President."

"This principal's from a top school in New York. New York is one of the least friendly states in regards to supernatural beings. This is a problem," Claire insisted.

"Really?" Lilianna looked at her in mock surprise.

"This is not the time for this necromancer," Claire rose to her feet, "The student body has to be unified. It's not good enough just for the different groups inhabiting the school to just work together. There must be _one_ group."

"You sound like you're preparing for war," Chandra snickered, "but as usual the student council follows the decrees of it's president." She dipped her head in mock reverence, "Your wish is my command." She sat back and continued before Claire could respond to her commentary, "Of course, seriously speaking, that is the best idea if he really is from New York and New York is as unfriendly as you make it out to be." Her eyes narrowed, "Lotus. Look into him when he gets here."

"Consider it done," the brunette nodded.

"That it?" Lilianna asked curiously.

Claire growled, "I guess. Yeah."

The council left. Lilianna walked quickly through the halls of the school. She found Xerxes on his way out of the school, "Going somewhere?"

"So what if I am?"

"Talk to me first?" Lilianna asked sweetly.

"Of course," Xerxes nodded. Even he knew better than to tell her no. He followed her over the wall of the school grounds, "He's your minion isn't he?"

Xerxes shrugged, "I was bored. I pulled some strings got him assigned here and he'll be your new principal."

"And you're mysteriously going on vacation and going to conveniently miss all the action," Lilianna concluded.

"Let's just say that I will not envy you your position," he smirked, "Anything else. Or do you want to come along? I wouldn't mind the company."

"Go find someone else to bring along," Lilianna turned away from him, "I'm not missing this for the world."

"You'll end up getting hurt," he sounded as though he enjoyed the idea of watching the planeswalker that had dared to summon him suffer.

She smirked, "Not if anyone else in the school has anything to say about it." She returned to the school and her classes. _What exactly does that demon have planned?_ _Well at least things will finally get interesting._

Chandra growled as an infuriatingly familiar aura surrounded her, "What do you want Kurai?!"

"I have news. As my summoner is not here I'll have to make do with the second best thing."

"What news and make it quick. My patience is running thin," Chandra snapped. She turned to glare at the demon.

"Your patience is always thin, Ms. Nalaar. The new principal is not all that he seems. He has succumbed to the machinations of a demon."

"Which demon?" Chandra asked.

Kurai shrugged, "Don't know." Chandra knew that was a lie. It was written all over his face that he did know, "More like won't tell." Kurai shrugged, "Is there a difference?"

Chandra ignored him and stalked away. _He's succumbed to a demon? That part I believe. That means that this is going to be very interesting._ She growled, "Great." She saw the new principal walking through the halls, inspecting the school with a disapproving look. Walking beside him was a small lithe boy that appeared to be around Alice's age. The boy's face was completely emotionless but his dull red eyes held a mix of resentment, anger and fear. _Great. Another dysfunctional kid._ The principal himself appeared to be quite the professional, wearing a full suit. Not a thing was out of place. His tie wasn't the slightest bit crooked. Her eyes narrowed, "Are you the new principal, Sir?"

"Yes. You are?" He looked down at her. His smile was warm but his eyes were empty.

"I'm a member of the student council actually, in charge of the clubs' budgets specifically. The president and vice president would normally be doing the introductions however both of them are currently busy with last minute preparations of your arrival," Chandra curtseyed and held out her hand for him to shake, "Chandra."

He took her hand, "Mr. Noire."

Chandra nodded, "Would you me to show you around? The direction you were heading leads directly to the cafeteria. Beyond that," _Kurai, connect me to his head,_ "is the gymnasium, auditorium, and many of the different arts classes." She smiled sweetly, being sure to make it innocent and trusting as well.

"I would actually appreciate that." _Perfect._

 _How naive are these fools?_

Chandra looked at the boy that stood next to the principal.

 _He thinks we're fools?_ Kurai's voice sounded amused. _I must say, Pyromancer. You are quite good at this._

Chandra nodded, "Of course. This is the cafeteria. However the dorm common rooms are also perfectly furnished for eating should a student, or staff member prefer that to this place. Also the juniors and seniors are allowed off of campus to go get lunch from one of the many nearby restaurants though most of them are out visiting another school for the year. Instead of those upperclassmen we have sophomores and freshmen from the school our juniors and seniors went to."

"Which school is that?" _I wonder..._

"The Palisade Campus," Chandra said.

 _The Slayers. Interesting. Why would the Slayers of Ascension City, or even more importantly, Palisade Campus, be interested in a filthy private school such as this one?_ He nodded, "Very well."

Chandra led them out of the cafeteria and into the gymnasium. The gym class wasn't currently warming up. She stood silently beside the principal as he watched the gym class curiously. This was Michael and David's class. She expected something interesting to happen but nothing did. Michael and David glanced at the principal, acknowledging that they had seen him but nothing crazy occurred. _Even they must be able to feel the aura that surrounds this guy._ She suppressed a shudder. Standing in his presence was suffocating. He must have noticed the differences in her uniform as compared to everyone else's, even student council. She continued to dutifully and courteously lead him through the school and around the school grounds. Little did he know that his polite, helpful, trusting, innocent little guide was about to become the biggest thorn in his side. She could play games but they never lasted long. This would be the longest lasting game she played. _I'll play it till I figure out that kid and why he follows this man around._

Kurai's voice echoed in her head. _He thinks you're a trusting idiot that doesn't know what your dealing with and must have been sheltered all your life. He's already made assumptions about you. They both have. And those assumptions work in your favor._

Chandra nodded. She stopped in front of the office, "That's it."

"Thank you very much," the principal nodded. He looked at the boy next to him, "There's no need to glare at her like that Hades. I know you don't trust people but you must be more courteous."

The boy flinched and stopped looking at her in general.

Chandra resisted the urge to narrow her eyes and instead she spoke sweetly, "It didn't hurt my feelings at all Sir."

"That's all well but I don't need him scaring away my future students."

 _And if I don't scare them away you'll end up leading them all to their deaths._

Chandra nodded and curtseyed again, "I have to return to class now. However the student council is at your service." She turned and walked into her science class. It was just before lunch. She sat and stared at the teacher. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. _Now things get interesting. Kurai. Signal Michael and David._

 _Consider it done, Princess._

Chandra hissed angrily. _I do not remember giving you permission to give me a nickname._

 _You're Jace's trusted keeper. Why not?_

 _I am_ _ **not**_ _his keeper. I keep no one._ Chandra resisted the urge to growl and rested her head on her arms.

 _My apologies then. However, without you and Ral and Elspeth and Kaechia and Gideon and Kaious, he would've lost his mind a long time ago._

Chandra lifted her head as Michael and David's trouble song played over the intercom. The fire sprinklers turned on without any warning beyond that all over the school. Chandra smirked, "Now we see how he responds and the game continues."

 _Are you sure you want to think of this as a game?_

"That's what it is. It's a game of chess. Students. Vs. Administration," Chandra whispered to herself.

 _Apparently. Can you win though?_

 _We will win._ Chandra looked around as the principal came over the intercom, "Students. Come to the auditorium. Immediately. There is something we must discuss." _He's obviously used to being obeyed._ She got up with the rest of her classmates and walked towards the auditorium. She saw Michael and David being led in separately. The two of them looked somewhat beat up but not terribly so. She sat with the rest of student council.

"It is apparent that there are many things that need to change about this school. You are obviously used to being able to get away with anything you please. Now, if you follow the rules then punishment will be unnecessary," Hades stood next to the principal looking agitated but afraid. Chandra noticed him shift uncomfortably. "However, should the disobedience continue then I will enforce ever harsher punishments until the message is finally understood. Is that clear?" The auditorium was silent. Every single staff member that had been with the school for any sort of extended period of time knew this was a bad sign. The student body was never silent. If they didn't like something they'd make that perfectly clear. The silence meant there was something deeper. The student body was plotting. They were thinking as a single unit. They could already guess what kind of punishment the principal was talking about. And they didn't like it. However, outright disobedience would get them nowhere. In a single moment the entire, fractured student body was unified. The different factions under all their different leaders faced the principal in silence.

"Very well. It will start with more security. However this security is for your own safety." The principal did not notice the light of ice cold hatred growing in the students' eyes. He heard the silence and took it as quiet acceptance. Hades however could feel it. The students' icy cold eyes raked over the principal. They did not accept his terms. They had already started plotting war. War was what this would inevitably devolve into. He saw them thinking, plotting. The architects already had layouts built into their heads. The ones proficient in the use of weapons were already preparing them. Ascension City's Slayers were already charging up their power, ready to strike at any time. Those that could use magic were already doing so. He could see it all. The principal missed it all.


	26. Chapter 26

"Fine. Fine," Jace sighed, "I'll stay one more night but I am never riding a horse again got it?" They'd spent the last week trying to teach him how to ride a horse. Every day it ended in disaster.

Silver and Platinum grinned happily, "Yeah!"

"You didn't fall though," Pearl said.

Jace shook his head, "I'll just keep my own feet on solid ground from now on." _It's kind of odd to say that since I have been carried around by people that can fly. But I'd rather walk than ride something like a horse._

"Where are you going to sleep?" Quartz asked, "Cause you aren't sharing my room." He was taller than her but that didn't mean she couldn't look down at him. She lifted her nose into the air and started to walk off.

Jace glanced at her. He knew he looked scathing and entirely unimpressed, "Excuse me then. I don't remember saying I wanted to share your room. I'll sleep on the couch."

Her jaw dropped in shock. She stopped dead and whirled around to face him. All of them stared at him. He had sounded extremely cold which was something none of them had heard before. He bit his lower lip nervously but refused to apologize. _Maybe I shouldn't act like I have a superiority complex around people. It won't do me any good and it won't help them either._ He shrugged, "Don't act like you're above everyone else. If you want people to like and truly respect you it won't help you."

Quartz continued to gape at him for a moment. She snapped her mouth shut, "Sorry." She turned and went up to her room.

Jace jumped over the back of the couch and landed on one of the cushions. So far he got a long relatively well with all of his temporary house mates except Quartz and Emerald. Emerald didn't seem to like anyone. Jace could sense a dark aura around the boy and would sometimes here a voice whispering in the kid's ear. Jace didn't know how to deal with stuff like that so he just left the kid alone.

"Wow," Ruby shook his head, "I don't think anyone's talked to her like that."

Jace shrugged, "It's not like a superiority complex with help anyone." _When I get back I'll apologize to Ral._

"What's on the TV?" Jade turned on the machine and sat in front of it.

Jace rolled his eyes and looked away from it. It was too dark in the rest of the room for him to not get a headache from watching it.

"All the news stations are...broken," Silver leaned over the back of the couch curiously.

"Maybe our connection's just bad," Jade shrugged.

"Nope. They're working," Ruby said as the fuzzy sound finally stopped.

"This isn't the news channel though," Platinum commented.

Jace rolled over and looked at the TV curiously. On the screen was none other than Shadow. The Black Lotus Assassin wasn't saying anything. She just seemed to be waiting for something. Jace sat up and looked at the TV. Curiosity and worry nagged at him greatly. He'd been away from Elendeth City for a month at most. He was still within the state of Colorado.

"Alright kids. Away from the TV. Dinner."

The kids sighed and walked away from the TV. Jace stayed for a moment longer before following. _Maybe it's not fair that I'm living here when they're having so many problems over there. Maybe I shouldn't have left. But how can I go back now? It would be so...uncomfortable that it wouldn't even matter if I went back. Besides. Ral will kill me. That's if Elspeth doesn't first. And Kaious before that. Chandra before that. They'll all kill me. How do you apologize for j_ _ust abandoning people like that? It's why I can't talk to Alice and the others. It's half the reason I left._

"Hey. Amaryllis. Are you okay?" Jace was looking at him worriedly.

Jace nodded, "I'm fine."

After dinner the kids grouped around the TV again.

"Maybe it's a glitch?" Ruby suggested.

"It's on every news station," Jade said.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Then maybe it's important?"

"Hm. Maybe," Ruby nodded. He sat on the couch and watched the TV.

Shadow was obviously getting frustrated and uncomfortable. Finally she spoke. "As many of you probably know Elendeth City, Colorado is known for...odd occurrences."

"Elendeth? That's crazy town isn't it?" Silver asked.

"It's really weird that's for sure. People from Elendeth are always odd," Jade shrugged, "They're completely mellow about everything. Always saying 'I've definitely seen worse' when there's mountains of snow covering everything."

Jace glanced at her. _Elendeth has definitely seen worse than_ _ **that**_ _._

"It's supposed to snow like that in the northeast not Colorado."

"Then let's see what's going on," Ruby suggested.

"The only private school in Elendeth City has a new principal. I'm going to let you decide for yourself whether you like this man or not."

A video recording played. Jace recognized Michael and David. The twins were pulled onto the raised part of the cafeteria. That part of the cafeteria had been cleared of the tables where students had once sat. Michael and David had their hands tied behind their backs. Instead of grinning mischievously the two of them looked almost mocking. The principal stood next to them and behind the principal stood a boy around Alice's age. The boy's red eyes were completely blank. He'd seen whatever was going to happen before. All the students were gathered in the lower part of the cafeteria. Security was insanely tight. There was a security guard posted every few feet along the walls at regular intervals and five also paced around the outer edge of the student body. Whoever was recording was outside the student body and obviously hidden. The camera looked down on the events leading Jace to believe the recorder was in the ceiling.

Ruby's eyes were wide in shock and Jace looked sick. None of them got up to turn off the TV. Shock froze them where they were at. Jace could feel Silver and Platinum watching behind him. Even their mother and father were watching. Quartz and Emerald had also migrated over.

"I warned you that if the rules were not obeyed then the punishments would get increasingly harsher did I not?" the principal's voice was stern but even through the recording Jace could tell that he saw the students as nothing more than animals. They weren't human so they were not deserving of the respect the students demanded.

Michael ducked under a steel baton that could've easily broken his skull. David sidestepped out of reach of the weapon. The two of them gave minimal resistance other than to get out of the way of the blows that they could. The kid in the background looked sick.

"Hades, teach them a lesson." The kid forced his face to blank. He leaped forward and grabbed Michael's upper arms. He held the larger boy still with a strength Jace had only seen in the experiments. The baton hit Michael, hard, in the head. Michael shook his head and looked at David. David activated a barely visible trip wire behind them. Buckets filled with ice water dumped all over the principal and Hades. Then smoke bombs went off and the recording ended. Jace felt sick to his stomach. _Why did I leave? Why am I here when they're obviously in trouble? My life's just fallen apart._ His eyes narrowed angrily but he lowered his head so no one would see it. His ears flattened. _But I can fix it. I can go back._ He raised his head, "Sorry but I'm not staying tonight."

"Why not?" Silver asked.

"Because I'm leaving," Jace got to his feet.

"You're from Elendeth aren't you?" Ruby asked.

Jace nodded.

Jade stared at him, "You are? I'm so sorry about what I said then! It looks like the private schools having problems. I'm not surprised you want to go back honestly."

Jace shrugged, "I'll come back and visit sometime." He didn't take too long saying goodbye because he didn't want to. He left the house quickly because he knew it wouldn't take long for him to convince himself there was nothing he could do. He knew that if he managed to convince himself they didn't need him then he'd stay and probably regret it forever. He could teleport but given the apparent situation that would be a waste of energy he'd need. _I didn't look into anything. I just stayed with them and played and learned how to take care of crops and farm animals._ The farm and the town that was near it were long since out of sight by dawn. By midday he could see the mountains on the horizon.

He was fast. A camera could barely pick him up when he wasn't at his fastest. He was engineered to be that way. He was engineered to be a general, a leader. He'd be the first to admit he wasn't a leader but he was still their friend. He may not have spoken to any of them. He may not have been kind to them. He may have led them to believe he didn't care about what happened to them or that he felt they were below him. None of that was true. He was their friend and he was going to help them. Nothing would happen to any of them. Not if he had anything to say about it. He could protect them. _Kurai._

 _Yes? Have you finally figured yourself out?_

 _I'm changing the contract. Don't fight_ _ **for**_ _me. Fight_ _ **with**_ _me._

 _Of course. The change has been taken into account._

Jace smirked. By midnight he could see the looming forms of the mountains nearly clearly. He was almost there. It hadn't taken him long to reach the farm and it wasn't going to take him long to get back. The next day he decided to rest for the morning so he'd have energy when he did return. He reached the outskirts of Elendeth by evening. The private school was another hour away at a jog. He slowed to a jog so he'd have the cover of darkness that would allow him to return to the school without being noticed. The gate outside the school was patrolled by seven security guards. He knocked the closest one to the ground and used him as a springboard to the top of the wall. He dropped on the other side before any of the outside guards knew what had happened. He saw Erin running from the girls' dorm building to the boys'. The track runner had four security guards hot on his heels. Jace leaped forward and knocked the lead guard to the ground. Erin didn't pause to look back but picked up his pace. Jace saw Onyx open the door for the energy drink guzzling runner. He knocked down the rest of security and skirted around the building. Phoenix was fending off security on her own, protecting Alice who was the first courier.

 _Phoenix sent Erin in the girl's place so that she wouldn't be caught the moment she stepped out from behind the assassin._ Kurai explained.

Jace's eyes narrowed. He saw Hades coming from the school building towards Phoenix. He shot forward and landed in the middle of the security guard mob that Phoenix managed to keep at bay. It was easy to knock the guards out. They were inexperienced when it came to dealing with the perfect soldier that Jace was designed into being. He stepped into fight beside Phoenix. She smirked but didn't spare him a glance.


	27. Chapter 27

Chandra growled. The principal was sending Hades after the kids they sent between the dorm buildings as couriers. She was going to need to talk to Kyle before the end of the day but that was much easier said than done. They got lucky last night. Jace's sudden appearance had dissuaded Hades from attacking though he won't be nearly as surprised next time. She had never seen such a large group taken down so quickly by anyone but herself. She could move that fast but doing so would've required that she move out from in front of Alice who was still calming down five hours later. The pressure was finally resolving itself. She was glad it was but didn't like how it was doing so. The third principal of the school was playing a dangerous game by doing this. Of course he didn't know that Lotus was recording him and the Black Lotus had broadcast one of these recordings all over the world. She doubted anyone would come to Elendeth's aid and if the principal started literal war he could easily call in reinforcements. Jace couldn't be in the school building however. He was in a similar situation to Lotus. The principal did not he was a student of the school before this so he would have to work behind the scenes. Of course that was nothing new to him. _Jace could be courier. That would give Hades a run for his money. Not that I want to fight the kid. As long as the principal scares him more than we do or more than he likes us he will continue to do as he is bid._ Her eyes narrowed, "Looks like it's my turn to get in trouble."

"Are you sure? You really are a moron," Lilianna shook her head, "The majority of human students are terrified. They're terrified that they will be the next one in the cafeteria."

"That's why the non humans cause the trouble. I'll tell the Black Lotus that should war break out in the school they will evacuate and protect the human or noncombatant students while the rest of us deal with it." The two of them kept their voices extremely low. Each dorm room had a security guard standing outside the door. Each student was escorted to every class by a security guard. Chandra's eyes narrowed. _I'll just pick a fight with my security guard. That should be enough._

Every single staff member had been replaced and boys and girls were no longer in the same classes. Interaction between the students in any form was prohibited. Every single class was silent. Even glancing at another student ended with some sort of physical punishment. Michael and David had already started plotting. Every day one student or other was brought into the cafeteria. Michael and David continued to disrupt even if it meant they were next on the balcony.

"Somebody's gonna get shot."

 _Princess Nalaar. Kyle has someone he wants to introduce to you tomorrow night. He'll make a tunnel outside your window. All you have to do is jump._

 _Tell Michael and David that they don't need to disrupt the cafeteria punishments anymore. Jace'll do that. Also, Erin and Alice aren't going to be couriers anymore. Ask Ral if he's finished those blueprints yet._

 _Of course._

Chandra waited impatiently for the demon's response. She didn't like him but he hadn't proven to be bad yet. He was contracted to Jace so she wasn't inclined to distrust him. He was a demon which meant she wasn't going to trust him either.

 _Michael and David are fine with that as long as they get to keep their traps and Jace will just activate them. Who will be courier in Erin's and Alice's places? And Ral says he's almost done and that in a couple days the students can begin gathering supplies._

 _Jace is courier._ Chandra nodded to herself. Ral had suggested that just in case if war did break out the dorms could transform into giant battle stations by basically unfolding themselves. He had suggested that he design the blueprints with Jason's help and then once they were done, Kyle could create tunnels that allow them to gather the necessary materials to do so. _Who does Kyle want me to meet?_

 _Someone named Zack. Apparently he's from a public school but can get us anything we need free of charge._

 _Alright._ Chandra shrugged. She laid down on her back and studied the ceiling. It took a while but she finally fell asleep.

The door opened and two security guards stood in the doorway, "Ladies, time for class."

Chandra snarled angrily but got to her feet.

Lilianna sat up, "Don't call us ladies if you don't plan on treating us like one."

Chandra followed her security guard down the stairs. Once they were in the courtyard she tripped him and darted off. Instantly she had ten plus security guards chasing after her. It took many more than that to successfully pin her to the ground and keep her there. The hoisted her to her feet less than gently. She couldn't help but grin, "You're pathetic. You know that?"

"You aren't in any position to criticize our strength," one of the guards said.

Chandra's grin broadened. It was terrifying, cold and yet almost excited at the same time. "Have you forgotten already?" She lit her right hand on fire even though her hands were behind her back. The flames shot along her body. Every security guard leaped away from her.

"That's enough," she recognized Hades' cold hollow voice. She turned and smiled at him, "Hello Hades."

He looked her over passively, "Put the flames out and come quietly."

"Sorry. You'll have to make me."

His expression didn't change. He leaped forward. Chandra leaped back and back flipped. Her foot connected with his jaw. He caught it and threw her down and away. She flipped and landed in a crouch. Students were starting to gather.

 _Jace has requested I assist you._

Chandra grunted and leaped forward. Hades met her halfway.

 _He's coming from the left side in an attempt to reach a pressure point._

She caught his arm with a flame lined hand. The flames crawled along him without having any affect. She super heated the air around her, sending her into the air. She spun twice and knocked him into the ground. He bounced and skidded backwards ten feet. He got to his feet and glared up at her, "This is not necessary. Stop."

"It is," Chandra dropped back down to the ground. She smirked, "Your involvement is not necessary."

He looked at her expressionlessly and remained silent.

The principal pushed through the crowd and glared at the two combatants. He snarled and went to grab Hades less than gently. Hades saw him and backed away. His once blank eyes filled with fear. He stumbled and fell. Chandra leaped forward, heating the hair and pushing against the cold air around her to quicken her flight. She skidded between the principal and Hades and spread her arms out to their full length at either side, "If you want to punish someone then punish me."

Hades stared at her. _You fool! Don't protect me!_

Chandra's eyes narrowed. _Kurai make sure he hears this._

 _Connection's been made._

 _I_ _ **will**_ _protect you. Just as I have protected Jace, and Onyx and any of the other students of this school._

 _I'm not a part of this school._

 _You're here aren't you? You are a part of the school. There's a reason Elendeth City is known as the most accepting haven in the world. You come here, even just to visit and we will welcome you with open arms as long your intent is good._

 _I don't-_

 _You do as you're told. That is not the same thing as intent. The resent and despise the orders you are given. Fear keeps you in check. Fear is what he uses to keep you in line. If you let fear continue to control you then you will be forever stuck doing something you despise._ The principal growled, "Move aside. He is-"

"Hades belongs to no one," Chandra's eyes burned with hatred as she gazed at this man. It took a lot for her to genuinely hate someone but this man had done it all, "Just as this school belongs to no one. The relationship of the principal and the students is a partnership and you are not treating it as such-" He backhanded her, forcing her to stop for a moment. A red mark marked her cheekbone, near her eye. She gritted her teeth to keep from leaping at the principal in that instant, "You cannot demand respect on the basis of fear."

A few of the security guards looked uncomfortable with the entire situation. Chandra noted that and allowed the principal himself to lead her away. She was stuck in a dark room with Hades as her guard.

"Why? Why protect me? I'm not a part of the school and I've never met you before."

Chandra shrugged. Her face stung but otherwise she was fine. She studied Hades carefully, "Do you enjoy living in fear?"

"No. But I don't have a choice," Hades didn't look at her.

"There's always a choice."

"No there isn't. If I disobey him then..." he trailed off and stared at the wall.

"Then?" Chandra prompted.

"He'll activate the HADES protocol."

"HADES protocol?"

"There's a protocol present in every experiment. Even if they develop their own personalities, live their own lives, anything once the protocol is activated they _will_ fulfill the purpose they were created for," Hades explained quietly. He knew this room didn't have any cameras but he didn't want to talk to her. He didn't even know why he'd started talking to begin with.

Her eyes narrowed. He couldn't tell if she was angry or thinking. The silence stretched for many moments. Suddenly she spoke again, "Help us."

"Did you not-"

"We'll help you," Chandra said. She studied his face, "It's how we work. You help us and we will help you."

"No," Hades shook his head, "You already have Athena! You don't need me."

"Athena?" Chandra felt bad for asking but she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You have Athena. The girl with the ATHENA protocol. I'm just a back up anyway," he stared at his hands, "At least she got some form of attention. I got sent to this guy once the Athena Project started working the way they wanted it to."

Chandra sighed, "We do need you."

"No you don't," Hades insisted.

" _He_ doesn't," Chandra snapped.

"Well, that's not-"

"Do you like using your abilities to help hurt people? Do you want to live this kind of life until you die?" Chandra rolled her eyes, "He doesn't need you. You don't need him."

"Then where the hell am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to do?" Hades snarled, "I'd rather have _this_ than uncertainty."

"You all ask me the same questions," Chandra sighed, "I can only give you suggestions. I can't tell you what to do. I won't tell you what to do. It's your life. You have plenty of opportunities and plenty of options if you open your eyes and see them. I'm asking you to help us. He won't be able to hurt you. There are things calculations cannot _EVER_ take into account. Even a protocol that's been a part of your very psyche forever."

"Really?" Hades snarled.

 _He doesn't like what I'm telling him. He doesn't like the fact that I am telling him exactly what he's known all this time and denied._ Chandra sighed, "If you want to then go ahead. I won't ask again." _That's a lie. I won't ask again **directly.** _ She shrugged, "It's up to you. But if this makes you sick why continue?" She fell silent and took to studying the room. It was the same room the previous principal had hidden away all the banned items in. She shook her head in amusement. _At least come up with something a little more creative. Jeez._ The wait seemed to take forever and yet no time at all at the same time. Hades followed them to the cafeteria miserably.

Chandra yawned broadly as she stood on the "punishment balcony". She looked down at the gathered student body. Lotus was up in the ceiling recording. Jace was leaning against the doorway of an entrance to the cafeteria right next to a security guard that obviously didn't see him. Onyx, Caedrus and Claire watched her carefully. Lilianna shook her head in amusement. None of the student body looked surprised to see that she wasn't worried a bit about the fact that she was standing on the balcony. "Principal. I have a question. Are you up here because you enjoy being able to look down upon a student body that is on average taller than you are?"

She was hit hard in the back of the head with a baton as a response to her question, "I'll take that as a yes." She spoke through gritted teeth. Sure it hurt but it was all she could do not to hit the man. It wouldn't help their cause if she started beating the hell out of the principal. She growled in an almost feral way. She lit her right hand on fire and heated the air around her to unbearable temperatures. The baton warmed to the point that it bent to a ninety degree angle the second time it connected with her head. She shook her head to clear it, "You done?"

"Another one," The principal insisted to the security guard next to him.

"No," the guard said.

"What?" The principal stared at him.

"I won't give you another one."

The principal growled, "You'd dare defy me?"

Chandra grabbed his hand as he pulled it back to hit the man, "I thought you were busy."

He snarled at her and pulled his hand free, "That's enough!" He stalked away. Hades hurried after him.

Chandra looked at the security guard and then after the principal. _Now shit gets real. Let's see if the man will activate the protocol. We need time._

 _Jace suggests we play along with him long enough for our dorm buildings to be redesigned. We can have three groups, outside supplies, and then girls' dorm and boys' dorm. Outside supplies can include any sort of necessary weaponry as well as bringing in the supplies needed for the battle stations._

 _Done. Let everyone else know. We'll divide the three groups tonight._ Chandra's eyes narrowed, "And we'll be meeting Zack."


	28. Chapter 28

Jace stood between Chandra and Onyx while Kyle stood next to a young man, probably seventeen. His sea green eyes widened with surprise, "Damn. At first I didn't believe Kyle but seeing you guys I totally believe you're at war. Damn." He smiled, "Zack by the way." His clothes were almost ragged and well worn. Probably more because he liked wearing them than because he didn't have any money. In a city that had a hotel that was run by a vampire that had more money than he knew what to do with going without wasn't exactly something anyone truly knew.

"Chandra," Chandra nodded.

"I met him a little while ago when the second principal was causing trouble and Rick and I were out at lunch," Kyle explained.

Chandra nodded.

"So...Kyle says you guys need help? What with?"

"Everything," Onyx shrugged, "But weapons would be nice and materials that will be specified later."

Zack nodded, "Alright. I doubt you guys can store all of it there though." He looked at his earth manipulating friend, "Lead the way to the abandoned warehouse. You guys can house outside allies there as well. No one in the city dares to approach the school anymore so the warehouse is the best place. There's all sorts of storage places in there."

Kyle nodded.

Chandra shrugged indifferently. The kid was probably at least a little annoying since he was Kyle's friend but they would need all the help they could get.

"According to Kurai, everything's done," Jace muttered. He hated playing messenger but it's not like they had much of a choice. Kurai knew full well Chandra's opinion of him. She knew telepathy was an asset but she would more than likely kill him for getting into her head now that Jace was there. Like Tina the principal couldn't know of his existence. He'd taken to hanging out on the roof of the boys' dorm building. There weren't any cameras that looked up so he was able to remain unseen up there. He was fast enough that all the cameras could catch of him was a blur. As were all the experiments. Hades knew he was there. Jace was somewhat surprised that the kid hadn't told the principal of his existence yet. His eyes narrowed. _Fear is an amazing motivator but so is compassion. He has to care otherwise he would've said something._ He almost smirked.

"You're thinking hard," Onyx noted.

Jace shrugged, "Just making observations." He cocked his head to the side, "We'd need to be able to modify the entire buildings in order to follow through with Ral's plan."

"Kyle, I need you to make a system of tunnels. One leading from one dorm to the other. This one will be for bringing supplies into the school," Chandra said.

"Who knew you could actually be a tactician," Jace muttered.

"Shut up," Chandra glared at him.

"At least you haven't changed," Jace smirked.

"Yeah and? You're still an astronomical pain in the ass."

"I'm cute," Jace shrugged.

"According to what? Your ego?"

Onyx shook his head, "Let's not start fighting down here. I'm sure the city would appreciate it if we didn't cause an earthquake."

The two turned away from each other and continued walking.

Zack glanced at Kyle, "Do they do that often?"

"Often enough that pretty much everyone is completely resigned to it," Kyle smiled at his friend, "It provides some very interesting entertainment."

"You still have to give me that ring by the way," Chandra reminded him.

"Not until you give me the medallion."

"I'm not giving you the medallion."

"Then the ring is mine," Jace shrugged.

"It is not yours. It's some ancient relic. You can't go claiming it as your own!"

"Then give me the medallion."

"No."

"Why not?" Jace asked.

"Because...damn you," Chandra glared at him.

Jace smirked, "You can't tell me I can't claim it as my own and then tell me I can't have the medallion cause it's yours."

"Shut up," Chandra snapped.

Zack started laughing.

"Everyone misses it when they don't," Onyx added, "If those two aren't arguing then it's absolutely crucial that they work together. That doesn't happen often."

"We're right here!" the two planeswalkers snapped in unison.

Kyle burst out laughing, "That was priceless!"

"In all seriousness though, the medallion and the ring are going to have to wait," Jace said evenly.

"Who knew you'd put us before your ticket out of here," Chandra smirked.

Jace glanced at her through narrowed eyes, "Keep talking and it won't happen again."

Chandra looked at him with a confident look in her eyes, "Really? You'd just up and leave. Right now?"

"Well...damn you," Jace looked away from her.

"I'm amazed. Even in the middle of a crisis you two are still arguing incessantly," Onyx shook his head.

"Maybe they have a plan," Zack suggested.

Chandra started laughing.

"We...we don't usually bother with plans," Jace admitted sheepishly.

Zack's eyes widened, "Then what about the whole 'let's turn the dorm buildings into battle stations as inspired by Star Trek' thing?"

"That wasn't us," Chandra shook her head.

"That was Ral," Jace added.

"After watching Star Trek?"

"No," Jace shook his head, "He hasn't actually seen Star Trek. He just thought it would be the easiest way of describing what he was thinking of."

Onyx stared at Jace, "Seriously?"

Jace nodded.

The blue haired boy rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Jace resisted the urge to smile. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually smiled before coming here.

Kyle sighed, "We're here. Do you want me to blow a hole in the floor?"

"Sure," Chandra shrugged.

"Wait!" Jace shook his head, "I wouldn't. It might be abandoned but announcing our presences would still be bad."

"So...quietly and gently put a hole in the floor?" Kyle asked.

Jace nodded.

"Well, looks like we know who really keeps everyone alive," Zack teased playfully.

Chandra glared at him, "Hey!"

Jace snickered and got punched in the arm for it. He looked at her indignantly, "I didn't say anything."

"You snickered and he would be broken in half if I poked him," Chandra motioned to Zack.

It took the seventeen year old a moment to pick up on the underhanded insult. When he did he looked at her indignantly, "That wasn't cool."

"I'm surprised it took you so long," Chandra smirked. Her smirk turned into a smile to let him know she was kidding.

"Alright," Kyle changed the positioning of the earth around them so there were stairs. Jace and Chandra were out first, skipping every other step.

"God you guys are fast," Zack shook his head.

Chandra shrugged.

Jace ignored him in favor of looking around. The room was mostly empty but there were plenty of empty bins where things or even people could be stored. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, "In the event we do make allies we need to tell them about the tunnel. That way they can actually come to our assistance."

Chandra nodded, "And they can bring whatever supplies we can't store when they do."

Jace nodded, "Yeah."

"However, we don't necessarily have allies," Onyx pointed out.

"Well," Chandra looked at Jace, "There's always Elspeth and the others."

"I'd rather they stay out of it," Jace shrugged.

Chandra shook her head, "They're getting involved."

"Fine," Jace continued to look around. _Elspeth would be helpful. She is after all a skill healer even without access to mana._ "What about the Black Lotus?"

"They're taking care of those that cannot fight," Onyx said.

Jace nodded, "Okay."

"So...what kinds of weapons would you guys need," Zack asked after a moment of tense silence.

"Ral mentioned a mini gun," Jace said evenly.

Chandra stared at him, "A mini gun?"

Jace nodded, "When you're dealing with someone that sees non humans as less than animals but wants to make weapons out of them things tend to get interesting."

"I love how he says it like the request is nothing out of the ordinary," Zack said to Kyle.

Kyle shrugged, "They've obviously dealt with worse than a principal that wants war."

"I'll see what I can do," Zack promised.

Chandra nodded.

Two weeks passed. The plan was going smoothly. The student body was mellowing out as directed and Michael and David's pranks occurred less and less. Jace watched a security patrol pass beneath him. He was in the ceiling of the hallway they were patrolling. Each guard was armed with semi automatic guns, tasers, and live ammunition. Jace shook his head, "You'd think this was a prison." _The principal truly believes that instilling fear within the student body will get them to be obedient. I don't think he could be more wrong but he wouldn't do it if it hasn't worked in the past._ His eyes narrowed. _Imagine his surprise when he watches the student body comply to his wishes only to unleash their vengeance upon him._ He couldn't help but smirk as he imagined the principal's shocked face.

The student body was split into three teams. Each team was only ever active at night. One was in charge of modifying the girls' dorm while a second was in charge of the boys' dorm. A third group was in charge of bringing in supplies from the warehouse. Zack had so many contacts. Jace was amazed but the public school kid had gotten them everything they'd asked for plus much much more. Everything was stored in the warehouse. Zack had all of his friends from his school helping him out as well. He met the third group, led by Rick, halfway between the warehouse and the school campus through the tunnels. Chandra had Yuri and Kyle set up lights within the tunnels so they weren't in the dark. Ral was in charge of the boys' dorm group while Isabelle was in charge of the girls'. Jace and Cain spent the entire night every night going from one dorm to the other to check anything one of the students needed them to.

Under this principal PE had turned into a soldier training hour. The students were forced to run even when they couldn't anymore. If they collapsed then there was a good chance they'd end up in "punishment balcony" of the cafeteria around lunch time. It wasn't just running either. Grueling physical activity was a daily requirement. Every student had a PE class now at the end of the day. Jace often watched the students on the track field from the roof of the school building. The librarian would allow the students reprieves in the library and had pass cards with perfectly forged teacher signatures that she'd give out to the students if they wanted a quick break from the horror that class and school in general was becoming. Of course rules dictated that a student could not spend more than fifteen minutes in the library with a pass card. The principal still hadn't gotten around to installing cameras into the library as the previous principals had seen no need to do so. Of course that was thanks to a little bit of minor memory manipulation thanks to Kurai. The demon did everything Jace instructed of him which left Jace a little unnerved. He was however not going to miss the chances to make things easier for the students that came up, even if he had to use Kurai to do it. He was becoming more and more certain that Kurai had lied about allying with the archangels but at least he wasn't being difficult.

Jace watched another round of security pass him by. The halls were patrolled constantly. A security patrol passed under him every two minutes. Every single patrol was armed in preparation for a student, mostly Chandra, to resist them. Xerxes had been strangely missing this entire time. That particular circumstance led Kurai to believe that Xerxes was the true force behind the principal. Hades was constantly at the principal's side and was in charge of taking down anyone security couldn't or anyone that dared to attack the principal. The principal had turned the security camera room into his office instead of using the office that was meant for the person that held the principal title. So far as far as the principal knew everything was going according to plan. Extensive use of illusions kept the students from being caught at night. Said illusions were mostly generated by Claire and her friends. She taught the humans that followed her the use of illusions for other purposes but they made good use of the ability now. Luckily she had both male and female followers that basically made a network of magical energy, working together to create insanely powerful and realistic illusions. Tessa, Alice, and Lilianna worked together to generate a plan for the best case scenario as well as the worst case scenario. Chandra and Lotus stood on the rooftops of the girls' and boys' dorms respectively and watched out for Hades and any incoming security. Everyone with telepathic abilities created a mental communication network. Jace shook his head. _Who knew such a dysfunctional student body could unite so easily._ Michael and David were now seventy times more serious than he'd ever seen them. Their pranks were now used to cover someone's retreat should it be necessary and set up more like a system of traps should security figure out what the student body was up to. The finishing touch to setting up the traps was a lever on the bottom floor of either dorm building. It would cause all the triggers to become active. That way the traps would only activate should it be necessary. The entrances to the tunnel network were trap doors under each bottom floor fridge. Kyle had a hell of a time plunging through the foundation of the buildings but managed to keep them stable while doing so.

Ral had agreed to play Michael and David's trouble song should they actually go to war. Jace thought it was ridiculous but Ral reasoned that it would give enough of a warning for security, who was only following orders, to decide whether or not they actually wanted to fight. The plan was the song would play and then the dorms would unfold but only if it became necessary. Ral had managed to discover an alloy that made nearly anything indestructible. The students had lined every single wall of the building with that alloy. Every three dorm rooms held a device of Ral's design that once activated would create a shield around the dorm buildings and the space in between. Every three rooms would once they were done. Jace sighed, "Now we wait." He dropped from the ceiling and shot past the security patrol. They whirled around but saw nothing. He smirked. _Let's see how easy it is to prove a point._ He skidded to a stop and shot back towards the patrol.

"Keep an eye out for what-WHOA!" The leader of the patrol just managed to get out of Jace's jump. Jace flipped and shoved him forward with his hands. That shoved him backwards into the next security guard. He caught himself on the man's shoulders, unbalancing him and rode him to the ground.

"Shoot it!"

Jace leaped into a security guard and disappeared into the ceiling.

"Damn monsters," the lead guard muttered as he fixed his jacket. Jace smirked and teleported behind the man, "Do you really want to see what a monster can do?" He leaped away from him and disappeared around the corner.

The guard whirled around just as Jace slid into the corner, "Dammit."

"Sir, whatever it is, it's inhumanly fast," one of the guards said, "I doubt we'll be able to hit it."

"Whoever said I was an it," Jace appeared behind the guard that had spoken and knocked her feet out from under her. He rose slowly to his feet and looked at the rest of the patrol. A second patrol was running up to them. Jace was nearly positive that the extra patrol wouldn't matter. He looked at the leader of the patrol and flicked his ears, "And who said you had to look human to be capable of compassion and love? Who said appearance even mattered? Look around at the men and women that follow you. Do they all look the same?" _God I sound like Chandra._ He shrugged, "I guess you get to decide what happens next." He shot past the stunned man and down the hallway. He couldn't be traced back to the student body because he'd never been seen before. He slowed to a stop and shrugged indifferently. Both patrols had heard everything he'd said. Maybe now they'd be on more even footing. If security was reluctant to fight then the principal wouldn't have an immediate fighting force.


	29. Chapter 29

"Almost done," Chandra flopped onto her bed. Lilianna sat calmly and slowly on her own bed across from her, "Almost. Then what though. We do have plans but we don't know if the principal will be going to war. If we continue to comply then the principal won't do anything but relish in his victory."

"But if we make the declaration then things are going to be dicey," Chandra nodded. She started to chew on her thumbnail thoughtfully, "Well...if we start acting up again then nothing new will happen."

Lilianna nodded, "Exactly."

Chandra's eyes narrowed. _Security won't lighten up even if we do behave. Maybe if we do something small that sets him off._ "Michael and David."

"What?" Lilianna looked at her in surprise, "They've behaved as far as he's concerned."

"Yes and if we push the principal over the edge then we don't have to worry about making the first move."

"How are we going to push him over the edge then and not just get him to stick us into the cafeteria?" Lilianna asked.

"Well...we're going to...um," Chandra growled in frustration. Suddenly she stopped and sat up, "We'll interrupt what happens in the cafeteria. Confuse security. Test their morality. If we start winning security over then he'll get pissed as hell. If we can win Hades over then even better." She grinned.

"Sounds solid enough," Lilianna nodded.

No one slept anymore. Everyone of them could feel the presence of the security guard outside their doors. All that was left to do was the very top floor of each dorm. It had taken them nearly a month. Lilianna was hoping to have the principal gone before December. It was now November and more than halfway through it at that. They'd missed Halloween which had only fueled the student body's anger. The PE course was becoming easier and easier. They'd have to work, even in the snow and the cold, which agitated her. She personally didn't like the overly toned look everyone was building. Melody had collapsed the day before, meaning she'd more than likely be the poor student whose punishment was put on show in the cafeteria. No one intervened. Lilianna hadn't expected as much. The entire city was afraid. Everyone skirted far around the school, glancing at the gate and the dying trees that sat beyond in sympathy but knowing they were unable to do anything. Elspeth and the others watched the school closely but trusted the student body to look after themselves and each other. Everyone could feel the tension. The cloud that had once hung over the school now hung over the entire city. Elendeth was just as prepared for war as the students were. Lotus had already informed the rest of the assassin's guild what their role was in this war. Elspeth and the others waited for their cue. The didn't need to be told what their role was. They already knew.

As Lilianna predicted Melody was in the cafeteria the next day. The poor girl was practically in tears and visibly terrified. Her eyes narrowed. _They'd target a normal human girl? I can't believe this. Even I'm sickened by that. Their fight is with us._ She shook her head. They already had a plan in place to deal with this. Hades looked sick but did nothing to stop the principal. The steel baton flew towards the girl's head. One hit like that would dent her skull at best. It could kill her. Jace leaped over the railing and grabbed Melody. He rolled under the principal's strike and set Melody on the ground. He hissed at the principal angrily. His ears were flattened and his blue eyes were dark pits of hatred. Hades looked shocked to see him. Lilianna had heard Tessa refer to Jace as the Rogue Experiment. The first one to escape and the only one to escape twice. Apparently he was well known by any and all of the experiments. For some he was an example. Others resented the fact that he had successfully escaped while they were still stuck. Hades' eyes narrowed in recognition. Lilianna instantly assumed that he resented Jace's very existence. Michael and David's bucket of chalk dust dumped the powder on the floor in front of the principal. The resulting cloud kept the principal from seeing Jace as he grabbed Melody's arm and dragged her completely out of the cafeteria. Security shot at him but Ral and Rick intervened, redirecting the bullets easily. Chandra and Caedrus took down the guards by the doors while Claire and her group created an illusions of chaos in the cafeteria to distract the remaining guards from assisting in halting Jace and Melody.

Hades dropped down in front of Jace. The boy's red eyes held no emotion and his voice was flat. "She hasn't been punished-"

"For what?" Jace snapped, "Being asthmatic?"

Hades' fists clenched at his side, "She-"

"Move," Jace insisted. His voice wasn't angry or mean. If anything he understood. There were a lot of things people are willing to do when they're controlled by the fear someone they believe to be above them instilled in them.

Hades shook his head, "No. I can't."

Jace sighed. He let Melody go and looked at Hades, "You can't? Can you punish her then? Will you dish out the punishment that she supposedly deserves?"

Everyone in the student body knew of the plan Chandra had come up with the previous night. It was already being implemented. Lilianna watched Hades hesitate. He continued to hesitate until he gave, "No. I can't."

"Then don't," Jace grabbed Melody and walked past him.

Lilianna shook her head, "Damn." The illusion faded once Jace and Melody were safely out of the building. Lilianna looked around. Everyone dispersed and went back to class. Security escorted them and kept a wary eye out for Jace. Security obviously didn't know who he was. Neither did the principal. Michael and David were in the cafeteria at the end of the day.

"Rules are important!"

Lilianna ignored his speech and watched security carefully. Many of them looked uncomfortable. She shook her head. _That idiot's plan might just work. Security doesn't like it any more than we do. However Michael and David are perfectly capable of testing securit_ _y's_ _moral on their own. No intervention is necessary this time._ She noticed Hades' lower lip was bleeding and he appeared to have a bruise on his arm. He covered the majority of the bruise with his hand but it was too large for him to successfully hide completely.

"C'mon!" Michael insisted, "Can you really be angry at us for defending our _friend_? She was terrified!"

"You could've killed her with that baton!" David added.

"Besides!" Michael looked dead at the principal, "How can you be sure we're the ones that did it? It doesn't take much to fill a bucket with chalk dust and hang it from the ceiling."

"A trip wire's easy to make," David added.

"Did our song play?" Michael asked.

"You know our song always pla-" David was interrupted as he was hit hard with a baton. A white sheen covered his skin, preventing most of the damage that would have been done. Almost instantly a bruise started to form. He shook his head in an effort to clear it.

Lilianna noticed most of security exchanging uneasy glances. She smirked, "They don't know. How can they? Michael and David aren't wrong. Their song always plays when they cause trouble. Every security guard knows that."

Tessa, who stood next to her, nodded, "It's all going according to plan. According to Cain security has already lost a large portion of their belief that we are inhumane monsters."

Lilianna smirked, "So tomorrow should definitely push it to it's limit." The plan for tomorrow was simple. Someone was going to volunteer to be punished in another's place. Lilianna expected the volunteer to be Chandra for two reasons. The first one was, the redhead's anger changed history. She could change the very composition of a person's soul with a few simple words. Lilianna hated her for it but didn't deny it. The second was she was surprisingly good at manipulating people. She often teased her about being unable to manipulate anyone but grudgingly admitted the redhead was just as good at getting what she wanted from a situation as she was. Of course when dealing with Jace and Ral the best way to get those two to do what one wanted was to be subtle and patient about it. She shook her head in amusement. The redhead was contagious. She could clearly remember a time when getting people unnecessarily involved would've just been part of what inevitably happened and whatever happened to them happened. Now the idea made her sick. That was Chandra's fault. However she didn't feel bad about summoning Xerxes in the first place. If Jace or Kurai mentioned that this whole incident was more than likely due to his machinations Chandra would be one step closer to raging. If Xerxes managed to push the redhead into a rage then Lilianna would be able to see if her hypothesis was correct and Chandra could kill a demon. She also wanted to see if putting her faith in Chandra was a wise idea. If the redhead could remove both elder dragons then Lilianna would be one step closer to her freedom. Of course in order to be able to call on the group's assistance again afterwards she'd have to work to keep up her good reputation.

"Michael and David are more than likely going to need medical attention," Tessa noted.

Lilianna rolled her eyes, "Great." _I was a healer. Of course I don't remember most of that._ She studied the two angels carefully, "Probably." They just took the beating and had been since David got hit.

Hades looked ready to vomit. Eventually he stepped forward, "Don't-Don't you think that's enough. They can't even get up anymore."

The principal rounded on him. Hades stepped back quickly.

Michael crouched on the ground with one eye closed. It would've killed anybody else. The two of them could create barriers around themselves that only allowed minimal damage to their bodies. The student body knew of the plan and had therefore watched in silence.

"Don't blame Hades for your own stupidity and blood lust," David's eyes were narrowed angrily, "He's already in enough pain because of you."

Hades glanced at his arm in shock and took another step back.

The principal snarled, "That's all. To class!"

The student body dispersed. The principal left Michael and David where they were. Hades followed him but glanced over his shoulder multiple times at them.

Lilianna cycled back around and returned to the cafeteria. She helped Alice, Onyx and Yuri essentially carry the twins to the nurse's office.

The nurse just shook her head. Usually she'd be pretty sarcastic about it but ever since the new principal started enacting punishment she was just silently seething. She knew the student body had a plan. They wouldn't have chilled out so significantly if they didn't so she didn't intervene in anyway.

"Will they be alright?" Alice asked fearfully.

Lilianna nodded, "They'll be fine."

Alice nodded and reluctantly followed the other three out of the room. Security ignored them.

Lilianna stopped as she heard a muffled cry of pain. She felt slow anger bud in her stomach. Her anger was not explosive like Chandra's but it was just as deadly. She couldn't remember a time when strangers mattered so much to her but she blamed Chandra. Her first priority was still herself. Thankfully the redhead hadn't managed to snuff that out. Yet. She recognized Hades' voice and shook her head. She resolved to tell Chandra and then let the redhead deal with it. She didn't have nearly as much of a sense of self preservation. Lilianna planned on getting out of this as close to unharmed as she could. She didn't plan on having any scars after this.

"He WHAT?!" Chandra stared at her roommate.

"I have reason to believe that the principal takes his anger and frustration out on Hades," Lilianna shrugged.

Chandra seethed silently for a moment. They had finished for the night. Dawn was still about an hour away. "That's it," she shook her head angrily. She got to her feet, "Tell Claire to make an illusion of me."

Lilianna nodded. Chandra disappeared out the window, heating the air around her to soften her landing. Out maneuvering security was a simple task. All they did was patrol. She could see them questioning themselves and everything they've done under his command. She felt a smirk forming on her face. She slid into the school building from a side door. The principal had replaced all the staff. Zack had managed to find them all and they now met at the warehouse every night to assist him and his friends in getting supplies to them. Only the librarian and the nurse remained. Apparently the second principal as well as the first were also assisting though Chandra hadn't seen them. It wasn't hard to find Hades. He was curled up in the corner of a room looking completely miserable. She crouched in front of him, "C'mon." She held out her hand to him.

"No," he shook his head, "you'll get in trouble for helping me."

"And?"

"I'm not worth the trouble I'll bring to you," he insisted.

"God," Chandra shook her head in amusement, "I could carry you."

"No."

"Then let's go," she moved insistently closer to him.

Hades shook his head, "I can't." He looked at her meaningfully, "I have to know something. The only way to know is to be on his side of the field until I have my answer." He met her gaze darkly, "You may very well be in more danger than you've been in before."

"What do you want an answer to?" Chandra stored his warning away in her mind to reflect upon later.

"The Athena project. It's true you have Athena and the Rogue but there's something more to it. I've learned that it was designed to serve someone. I don't know who but the only way to know is to stay here," Hades shrugged.

Chandra sighed, "Fine. But I won't let you die in order to get your answer. How can you get an answer if you die?"

He nodded reluctantly in agreement.

Chandra rolled her eyes as she silently closed the door. She heard voices nearby and froze. She crept closer and listened carefully.

"I'll need to replace all of security. Only then can these monsters be controlled."

"Don't forget about the Athena Project," Chandra's eyes widened as she recognized Areu by his voice. _Does that mean Bolas is behind this?_


	30. Chapter 30

"Cat Ears."

"Huh?"

"I'm glad you came back," Ral grinned.

"You sound sappy. Shut up," Jace snapped.

"C'mon Cat Ears. You can't hate me just because I'm glad I can annoy you again," Ral laughed. He moved one of the curtains aside, "By the way did you like the lion I got you while you were gone?"

"It's bigger than the tiger," Jace snapped, "Of course I didn't like it!"

Ral laughed, "Alright Cat Ears. Whatever you say."

Jace rolled his eyes, "If security comes blowing through that door you and I are both dead. We can't mess up the plan for tomorrow."

Ral nodded, "I know. I know. I'll be quieter now."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Are we done after tonight then?"

"Yeah. Nothing more to do than push the principal over the edge," Ral confirmed.

Jace nodded, "Alright." He climbed out the window and went to the roof of the building. _I'm more than done with this. Hopefully after this everything will mellow out. However, I doubt it. We attract trouble like a magnet._ He sighed, "Oh well. At least we can take care of ourselves as well as everyone else."

The next day Chandra volunteered for punishment in place for Alice. No one had expected Alice to get in trouble but that was how it had played out. Instead of dishing out punishment himself the principal had security do it.

"A whip?" Ral looked surprised, "That's new."

"Probably because she bent a baton with her head last time," Yuri muttered.

Ral snickered, "Yeah." That had been amusing. The principal had looked appalled.

Chandra watched security calmly. The man was hesitant but was still going to do as he was told. Ral knew however that Chandra had other plans. She dodged but let the whip wrap around her arm. Blood started running down her hair from where the end had connected into her flesh. She grabbed it and pulled it out of the man's hand. Her eyes went from calm to burning rage in an instant. She unwrapped the whip from her arm and cracked it extremely close to the guard, "Really?! You're a grown man aren't you? If you can't take a whip what makes you think kids can?!"

He shrugged and stepped away from her. His eyes were wide with fear and understanding at the same time.

Her eyes narrowed angrily and she tossed the whip at his feet, "Then WHY?! Why do it if you know it's wrong? Why dish it out if you can't take it? Why let it continue if you know that someone could die?"

He shook his head, "I-I don't know."

"You're a security guard. You're here for our safety and yet you are the one threatening that safety," she turned on her heel and jumped off the balcony without another word. The students dispersed.

Jace hovered for a moment before leaving. He hurried into the principal's "office" and climbed into the ceiling. He watched the man pace back in forth with an almost insane look in his eyes.

"Fine. If it's war those animals want then it's war they can get," he snarled.

Hades watched silently from the corner.

Jace smirked. _Kurai. Tell the others that war has been declared._

 _Of course._

Jace slid away and out of the building. He no longer had an interest in being in the building. He hurried across the courtyard and into the dorm building. His paranoia demanded that he check everything to make sure that they were as prepared as they could be. Now that war had been declared he and Chandra would be a distraction to get security out of the dorm buildings so they weren't caught in the halls when the dorms unfolded into the battle stations they'd been designed into. Thanks to Zack they now had everything they needed to make it successful. Yes Ral's recent obsession with mini guns had been indulged. Each dorm had two. However the four students, Isabelle, Yuri, Derek, and Jenny, that were in charge of the guns were told to aim up. If they aimed up then the bullets would just slightly fall short of their target. The bullets were also not made of metal. They were an extremely hard foam as well as being blunt. The idea was to prove a point and not kill their opponents. Most of them were just following orders anyway. However since the Black Lotus had been sharing the videos Lotus recorded he doubted he'd bee able to get much in the way of back up. There was unfortunately the possibility that whoever ran the military shared his views. Jace didn't know much about how the country was run. He didn't care. He'd be gone before he had to do anything about it.

Lotus dropped into his room, "War?"

Jace nodded, "Yep."

She shook her head, "Finally. He'll be gone by the end of this."

Jace nodded, "Yeah." _Not that I'd wish death-never mind. Hopefully somebody kills him. That somebody won't be me but he just shouldn't exist._

"So tonight then?" Lotus asked.

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Actually..." _Kurai what's going on?_

 _Well...security is extremely active suddenly._

 _What do you mean?_

 _The principal is rounding everyone up outside the school and is presumably going to have Hades kill all of them one by one. Of course he is still in his camera room._

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Go outside." _Tell Ral to play the song. I'll bring down the dorms._

 _Of course._

Jace watched Lotus disappear down the stairs. Once she was safely out of the building he went over to the closet. Inside Ral hid his computer. Jace put in the code that would activate the battle stations. He jumped out the window so that he wouldn't be crushed in the transformation. _So much for having to draw security out of the dorm buildings. They're all in the school still._ He met Lotus outside and watched. The entire student body was herded outside. Instantly those that could fight and win against security did so while the others darted towards the battle stations. Jace could hear the Black Lotus assassins speeding down the streets in their evacuation semi trucks. They had modified semi trucks for evacuation purposes because one could hold plenty of people. The entire city could fit into the semi trucks the assassin's guild had managed to acquire. His eyes narrowed. The moment the entire student body was inside the outer reaches of the barrier Ral activated it. Onyx instantly knelt on the ground near his duffel bag and opened it. He turned it upside down and shook everything out of it.

Jace stared at him, "How much do you fit in there?"

"All of this," Onyx shrugged.

"And you haven't died yet how?" Erin asked.

"It's got a few enchantments on it," Onyx shrugged again.

Now lying on the ground in front of him were more than enough weapons. He handed one to Michael and one to David. The nurse had profusely protested to their participation in this but they were here now, having been rounded up by security. The principal ordered an open fire. Luckily the barrier held. The students managed to get prepared before the barrier fell. However that was the only purpose the barrier held. It wouldn't hold up forever.

The Black Lotus arrived and indiscreetly drove through the wall that surrounded the school. Zack brought their allies up through the tunnels and the former staff of the school gathered between those loading onto the trucks and security, more than ready for a fight. Jace shook his head. The first principal was the last demon hunter on the world and had killed multiple as well as beings less powerful than that. The second principal was a part of an assassination organization that was supported by the government, nearly all of security had defected to their side but the current principal had suspected as much. Jace had taken great pleasure in the absolute shock that he saw on the principal's face as the man walked into the courtyard. His forces stopped shooting when he appeared.

"It's a little different in person isn't it?" The second principal asked callously, "You overstep your bounds by doing this."

"They're the ones that asked for war," the principal motioned to the student body that was gathered.

The first principal raised an eyebrow, "There's obviously no changing that mentality."

Jace glanced at Ral, "How much longer is the barrier going to hold up?"

"Well, now that they've stopped shooting at us, it should last long enough to get everyone that won't be fighting safely to the Black Lotus hotel. It should also give Elspeth and the others time to at least be close by."

Jace nodded, "Good."

The principal glared at the student body that had outsmarted and outmaneuvered him, "Kill them. They're all monsters, less than animals."

The military grade force the principal now had opened fire without a second thought.

Hades followed the principal into the camera room obediently. He watched the events unfold over the man's shoulder. The camera's didn't necessarily pick up on some of them. He watched two mini guns come up out of the floor of each dorm room. One girl, Isabelle, could warp the paths of the bullets with a look. She was an Ascension City kid. They all had very intriguing abilities that had no real explanation. Many believed it was experimentation and then the abilities were passed down from one generation to the next. Hades didn't necessarily doubt that but he didn't know. He didn't know a lot of the kid's names. He just knew the ones that caused the most "trouble". Michael and David were acting as battle medics. The nurse had argued against them being rounded up with the other students but the security replacements were unwilling to listen to her. She was currently lying unconscious on the floor of her office. Or she was last he knew. He wasn't surprised that Jace was fast enough to block bullets or dodge them. The fact that Chandra was was more than surprising to him however. Of course with her abilities over fire she might maybe be able to augment her speed. He doubted it was that though. She had an innate inhuman speed that he didn't understand. The fighting was basically stale mated.

"Call in the Inquisitors," the principal ordered.

Hades swallowed nervously. _Inquisitors? Are they really necessary? They'll kill everyone._ He watched anxiously as the Inquisitors approached the battlefield. There were nine of them. There were usually ten but one had died and had yet to be replaced. It was rumored that the lead Inquisitor wasn't completely human herself, possessing some unnatural ability that no one had actually seen in action. Usually Inquisitors were female. The sole reason being the fact that something about female anatomy took better to the genetic and physical augmentation an Inquisitor went through. However there were three male Inquisitors.

Hades had never met an Inquisitor but had heard plenty of horror stories. He had no intention of meeting one on the opposite side of a battle field. Instantly the Ascension City students became apprehensive. The Elendeth kids of course had no idea what an Inquisitor was. He started to chew on his pinkie fingernail nervously. _I hope they can handle it._

 _Inquisitors. Beings specifically designed to destroy an experiment after the Rogue Experiment escaped the second time._

Jace cursed. He could see them. There were nine of them. He wasn't sure the majority of the students could survive a fight with one of them. Suddenly he heard Chandra snarled, "Let the Lotus take care of them."

Jace nodded, "Can you?"

"The more powerful will be able to," Chandra nodded. She leaped forward before Jace could question her anymore.

 _Don't die moron._ Jace knew she'd probably find some way of returning the insult to him but he didn't care. He was a little too busy to worry about her being her normal self.


	31. Chapter 31

"Are they gonna be okay?" Melody asked anxiously.

Jenny nodded, "Of course they are. You know how those guys are."

"Hm," Melody didn't look convinced.

"Isabelle and the others are there too," A blond girl, Debbie, said confidently, "They've taken on a goddess and won."

Melody's eyes widened, "Really?"

Debbie nodded, "Yep. I'm sure they'll be fine. Especially with your friends. It's just a crazy principal after all."

Melody nodded, "Okay."

Erin glanced at the group uneasily but remained silent.

"Shadow!"

"Huh?" Shadow looked up at her name.

"They need help," Echo said, "The principal called in Inquisitors."

"Seriously?" Shadow snarled, "Is Elspeth there?"

"Very close," Echo said.

"Alright," Shadow got to her feet. She hurried up the stairs, "Wasp. Watch the kids for me."

"Which ones."

"All of them," Shadow said.

"Alright."

Shadow fetched Dawn, "They'll probably need your help. I know we will."

Dawn nodded, "Of course they will."

Hades watched in shock and awe as the Black Lotus assassins brought down the Inquisitors. None were killed. One of them was wrapped up in his own chain turned deadly weapon and another was caught in a net and now hanging from a tree without anyway of getting out with a Black Lotus leaning over him. The leader was currently locked in a stalemate with Phoenix who was, somewhat surprisingly, Chandra. Two of the assassins worked together to confuse and inevitably overpower an Inquisitor. The superhuman soldiers were falling like flies. They were designed to be able to take down the Rogue Experiment. Of course he was currently preoccupied with helping Ral and Cain with a technical malfunction in one of the pieces of the network that created the barrier. Hades could feel an immense amount of power approaching the school. The kind of power reminded him vaguely of Michael and David but much much more powerful. He could tell the person was seething silently and calmly. Being Athena's backup should she fail or malfunction he had many of the same abilities. It just appeared as though the personality and the protocol didn't get along nearly as well as he did with his. None of them seemed to even know their protocol existed. That realization worried him. He continued to chew on his fingernail. He knew he couldn't intervene. Not yet. He had to know if the principal knew about the protocol. If the principal knew then the students were more than screwed. If he had identified that Athena was there then, if he had the access code, he could activate her protocol. Athena was man's first successful attempt at a man made goddess. Hades was the only one other than maybe Phoenix, maybe, that could take her on and hope to win. That was if he could figure out how to activate his own protocol without the access code. "They Inquisitors are dropping surprisingly quickly," he noted evenly.

"That they are. I might have to resort to my final stand," the principal snarled, "Damned animals have connections."

 _He doesn't seen anyone as anything more than an animal. He'll use anyone to get to his goals and he wants to create an unstoppable army out of these students plus many more._ Hades resisted the urge to just shake his head. _I can't help but feel that he's picked the wrong kids this time._ He watched the security footage carefully. The kids were smart. They were overpowered in that they had hard foam blunt bullets while deadly metal ones were being fired at them. Of course the principal also had access to military backup should he deem it necessary. That including things like tanks and missiles. Hades doubted the man would ever have the chance to use such a thing.

The principal growled in frustration, "Bring in a guard."

Hades obeyed and brought a guard in.

"Activate the Athena Project."

 _The **whole** project? _Hades swallowed. _But that's all of them. They're all a part of the Athena Project._ He looked at the cameras again. The other experiments were all fighting so hard to protect their friends and their freedom. Cain was helping Ral fix the device, having identified the problem, while Jace protected them since he didn't really get along with technology of any sort. Tessa stood nearby, next to Claire and Kurai, telling the demon what to tell the others to do and assisting Claire in directing her illusions. Alice and Jade were helping Tina, Michael and David defend the Black Lotus Dawn while she tended to a wounded Rick. Jason was making sure everything was running properly in the battle station that had been the girls' dormitory. Alex was helping Yuri aim the mini gun to do as little damage as possible to it's targets. Yuri's aim was apparently awful. Blake and Evelyn stood back with the former teachers as a backup force should things get that bad. Athena, since Hades didn't know if she'd adopted a name other than that, was holding up the barrier in place of the device while Cain and Ral tried to fix it. The barrier itself was failing but it's purpose had technically been fulfilled. All the students that couldn't fight were clear out of the way.

And all at once they dropped. At the very least they dropped to a knee. The barrier fell. Ral panicked. Claire caught Tessa and set her on the ground in confusion. Tina was distracted long enough to get hit in the shoulder. Yuri turned away from his gun to kneel beside Alex worriedly. The teachers were distracted. Everyone was distracted and suddenly the principal was winning.

Hades gritted his teeth. _If Athena fails I'm his next choice._ He stepped away from the cameras.

"Where do you think you're going?" the principal snarled.

Hades looked at him. Anger fueled his defiance, "It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," the principal snapped.

 _He won't let me leave._ Hades let out a low dangerous feral growl. The man's back was turned and he ignored the subtle warning. A small blade slid out of Hades' sleeve and into his hand. _Unlike the others death doesn't make me sick. Death is a fact of life. All life must end sometime._ He plunged the blade deep into the man's back and turned away. He left the room and the body behind. _I'll deal with Athena._

Seeing everything in person was much more surreal. He couldn't believe they were actually losing.

 _Get away from them._ Kurai's voice rang in his head. The demon must've already identified his allegiance. _Jace has told me to order you to get away._

"Go to the walls!" Chandra's voice rang above the chaos. She grabbed Isabelle and Yuri and kept them beside her. She grabbed Blake and Evelyn and pulled them closer to the center of the courtyard. She looked at the Black Lotus, "Let the Inquisitors go. I doubt a program will be able to differentiate between friend and foe."

The assassins complied before scattering to the walls themselves.

The Inquisitors did the same.

Chandra turned to the military force the principal had summoned to his aid, "Leave. Now!"

They did so without hesitation. Many of them had no idea what was going on.

Hades watched Athena begin to glow. She started to float above the ground and her uniform was replaced with resplendent armor. Her hair doubled in length and a helmet with bright white wings appeared on her head. _Here we go._ He lifted his head to look at her. _Man's first goddess. Made by their own hand. The creators relished their victory and decided to create a fitting army for their goddess. But just in case she failed them somehow they created a shadow. A darker version, not as morally defined. A goddess created to serve man and an army created to serve her. Who knows how many more gods there are out there? Who knows how many more armies have been conditioned into perfect soldiers?_

"Move!" Phoenix suddenly stood in front of him, blocking a bright glowing blade. Now that the assassin was closer he could see what made her so fast. She had so many gadgets on her person that she might as well be a robot. He leaped out of the way quickly.

"If you're going to help then do so," Isabelle snarled. She didn't sound angry, just incredibly focused and determined, "If not then get out of the way!"

Hades nodded and drew on what power he had access to.

Chandra smirked, "Let's go!"

She leaped forward and Hades quickly followed. Yuri and Isabelle stayed behind them. Isabelle used her ability over reality itself to warp the trajectory of one of Athena's attacks. Yuri followed up quickly with a fireball. However it didn't appear as though the fireball was directed at the goddess. It landed on Chandra and the redhead leaped out of it. She was entirely on fire and completely unaffected. It almost seemed to make her more powerful. Athena had been too focused on Isabelle to notice the redhead and therefore barely managed to dodge. She got a nice slice right down her arm, instead of her chest. Chandra dropped gently back down and growled angrily.

Hades' eyes narrowed. _It would be easiest if we were to assess who is the biggest threat to Athena. I would assume Chandra but-shit! They're waking up!_

Chandra growled, "You've got to be _kidding_ me." She turned and blocked an attack from a blank expressionless Blake. Hades snarled and knocked Evelyn into the ground with a blow to the head. The girl got back up and come at him from below. He stumbled backwards, suddenly wishing he had the grace of Jace or Chandra. However he didn't so he'd just have to make do with what he did have. He was small. His speed wasn't all that great compared to Athena and her project but he was much stronger. His project, however small it was, was focused mainly on strength and manipulation. Athena's project had speed and agility on their side. It was a very straightforward project. All of them were a blur to normal eyesight.

Evelyn sensed his weakness and decided to take advantage of it.

Hades went on the defensive and got progressively slower to make the protocol believe it was winning. He was hit on a couple of occasions but endurance and pain tolerance were common traits among all of the experiments. He was sure they'd create or had already created a group that put emphasis on endurance but hadn't met any if they had. He knocked the girl up into the air, taking her by surprise. He caught her leg as she went to flip over him using the momentum he'd granted her and slammed her into the ground. She didn't get back up after that. After quickly checking to make sure she wasn't dead he looked around. Isabelle was having difficulty holding off both Alex and Jade. Jace, Alice, Tessa and Cain were still down. Yuri had to deal with Jason. Athena started using enchantments to ramp up her underlings' already immensely overpowering speed and maneuverability.

Suddenly the earth cracked and became jagged like a rocky cliff face. A cry sounded from near the walls to their right. Isabelle turned in surprise as Alex and Jade basically flew. Yuri watched Jason land neatly a little way away from him and shook his head, "Dammit. It's not like that did anything but get them out of our faces."

"That's good enough," Chandra shrugged as she appeared behind him.

Hades nodded, "At least they're easier to deal with now that they aren't in our faces."

"For you two maybe," Isabelle snapped. She looked at where Cristi stood at the origin point of the cone of destruction before turning her attention back to Alex and Jade. The three of them were incredibly fast. Hades couldn't match it. Isabelle wasn't even sure Chandra could. Athena was no longer actively combative, instead buffing those under her so they could take them down on their own. However Isabelle was sure they all understood that the four of them were the only ones standing between the students and teachers and their inevitable destruction.


	32. Chapter 32

Ral refused to move. He knew Jace wouldn't say to if it wasn't important but he wasn't going anywhere. They were his friends even if something was wrong right now. He didn't exactly understand what was going on but he knew that all of them weren't acting of their own volition. He looked up and watched Chandra and the other three fight for a moment. He was sure they could handle themselves. Jace, Tessa and Cain were closest to him. He got to his feet and hurried over to where Lily watched the battle uneasily, "Can you talk to Echo?"

Lily looked at him in surprise, "Huh?"

"Echo. Tell her to figure out what's going on. If we can do that then-" _Ral. Tessa! Deal with Tessa! If she joins the fight it's all over!_ Ral whirled around. The purple haired girl was getting to her feet. He froze. _What am I supposed to do?_

 _Zap the hell out of her. The brain is all electrical signals. Disrupt that and she'll be down. At least long enough for Chandra and the others to deal with everyone else._

Ral looked pleadingly at Lily before darting back to Tessa, Cain and Jace. He grabbed Tessa's arm and zapped her.

 _You're gonna need more than that._

Ral growled and wrapped his arms around the shorter girl's shoulders. He drew on mana. He knew it was a stupid idea but it was the only way he could get enough electricity in that moment to successfully knock her unconscious.

"Idiot!" Ral vaguely heard what sounded like Dawn cursing under her breath. _Wait...Cat Ears? I thought you didn't have the ability to be in anyone's head at the moment._

 _It's complicated. I'll explain it when this is over._

The sick feeling that came with drawing mana led to an odd clarity. Ral watched everything happen like he was watching from far away and yet right next to them at the same time. Tessa collapsed and Ral followed. He lost consciousness within moments.

Jace knew this feeling. The feeling that everything he was and stood for was being completely overridden. It'd happened once before. He'd overcome it once before. When he had left for the second time they'd tried activating the protocol but he'd planeswalked before it could successfully take hold. He knew he couldn't planeswalk this time. That would be disastrous. He was glad Ral had managed to take down Tessa. There was pretty much nothing he could do now. Until the protocol was deactivated or he lost consciousness he would have to rely on the others to make it through okay.

Elspeth and the others were there but were unwilling to intervene directly. Elspeth had Gideon on standby. She knew something the others didn't. She knew something none of them did.

 _Darkness comes with chains of hope and the phoenix shall cease to be._

Jace didn't recognize the voice though he could swear he'd heard it before. Of course the protocol made it difficult to think clearly or focus on anything but keeping it at bay.

 _Maybe the phoenix won't cease in the way everyone believes. I hear rage and a desire to protect. Another prophecy has been fulfilled._

 _Who...are...you?_ Jace was nearly positive he was the only one that heard the voice.

 _An oracle. An esper created for a single purpose. A single destiny. Otherwise who I am doesn't matter. You'll forget either way._

 _Tell me._ Jace wanted to know. He felt he needed to know. Whoever this girl was she was helping them. She sounded both despondent and hopefully at the same time.

 _Orriyon._

 _Which prophecy's been fulfilled then?_

 _One seen a long time ago. There comes a time when flames can heal and protect and in the darkness let the phoenix be your guide._

It was getting harder and harder to think. He barely heard her beyond the ringing in his ears and the pounding of his head. Suddenly he felt Athena push at him, calling on him. He gritted his teeth and pushed back stubbornly. _This isn't happening. I'm not a weapon. I'm not going to be used to kill them. I'm_ _ **not.**_ He squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear Cain getting up but couldn't move.

Jace wasn't drawing on mana. It was more like he was drawing on the highly concentrated power of those around him, draining them. The whole point of the project was that Athena would lend her power to those that served under her. She was in essence a never ending pool of power herself but only her project could draw on her. He however had developed the ability to draw on the power of anyone. If they had more power then he did he could use it. It disturbed him and no one knew about it but it was how he'd stayed alive this long. He often did it subconsciously without really thinking about it. However since arriving on this world he'd actively forced himself not to since the people around him gained power from themselves instead of mana or some other external source.

Lilianna watched uneasily. Cain rose to his feet. Ral had taken down Tessa when she'd gotten up but was now unconscious himself. Chandra, Isabelle, Yuri and Hades were currently busy dealing with Alex, Jason and Jade and would turn to Athena once they were dealt with. Cain's ability to calculate the outcome and all the possibilities in half an instant and change those calculations as necessary meant they were screwed. Like Ral she had no idea what exactly was going on. One minute they're helpful and wanting to fight with them and the next they're on the ground in obvious pain. Lilianna growled, "Fine." _Since the redhead's busy I'll deal with you._ However, instead of dealing with him directly she turned to Onyx, "Cain."

Onyx studied the smaller boy and nodded, "Gotcha." He, Michael and David engaged the living calculator. Lilianna approached Kurai, "Help me."

The demon nodded, "Of course."

Lilianna looked at Onyx. _Be spontaneous. He'll predict your movements with ease._

Onyx slid sideways as Michael leaped over him.

The two angels fought extremely well for being immature tricksters. All three of them had been practicing and honing their abilities for more millennia than even Bolas had been alive. This world had been one of the few, even before it fell out of alignment were multiple forms of magic were practiced. Mages were taught, not only to draw from mana but to draw from themselves in the event that they were somehow separated from mana. It's common knowledge that metals like lead can inhibit if not completely block ones ability to access mana. It's often used in experimentation labs where mages and planeswalkers are used as specimens. Michael and David were surprisingly focused and reliable when they needed to be. Lilianna stored that knowledge away in her mind for later. Cain was hard pressed to predict all three of them and respond in a way that would successfully deter any further attacks from all of them. The three of them used a hit and run tactic. One would attack and then back off while another came in and attacked in their place.

Chandra, Isabelle, Yuri and Hades used a similar tactic but since they were nearly evenly numbered it was altered somewhat. Isabelle remained in the back and used her ability over reality to warp the ground under their opponents' feet, temporarily immobilizing them. Chandra and Hades would then attack quickly and back off before Yuri dropped a ball of flames on their heads. So far Alex was down and Jason was almost there. Jade was incredibly mobile, being a rabbit. Everyone of them seemed to exhibit animalistic features except Cain who had dual colored eyes instead. The "gods" that stood at the head of each project also lacked that particular feature. Alice and Jace appeared to have the features of either domestic cats or small wild cats. Jade had rabbit ears and powerful legs like the hind legs of a rabbit and Alex was a bear. Tessa appeared to have hawk or eagle features. Hawk was more likely given the feathers in the girl's hair. Blake was a ferret and Evelyn was a mouse. Jason had patterns on his skin like a leopard.

"Guys!"

Lilianna turned in surprise. Jenny, Melody, Nix and Erin were running up to them. Jenny stopped dead, "Uh-oh."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Claire glared at them, "Go back. Now."

"I can help," Jenny insisted, "I learned magic."

"Can you use it now?" Elspeth asked.

Jenny looked uncertain for the first time since Lilianna had met her. Suddenly the girl's face steeled, "There's only one way to find out."

"Are you insane?!" Lilianna hissed.

Jenny looked at her and shrugged, "Can't be helped." She hurried over to where Onyx and the twins fought with Cain. They were struggling to keep up with him now that Athena had enhanced his speed and agility.

Lilianna gritted her teeth but watched the girl carefully. _Great. If someone has to rescue that little brat I swear. It's not going to be me. That's for sure._

"Nix, can't you fight?" Melody asked

"Only hand to hand," Nix said flatly.

"Oh," Erin sighed. He started to wrack his mind for an idea. _Dammit. I haven't had enough energy drinks for this._

Lilianna shook her head, "Whatever."

Nix shot forward and caught Cain in a surprisingly strong grip. He wriggled and struggled and tried to get free of her grasp but she just moved with him, nullifying the desired affect.

Jenny grinned, "Just hold him a little longer!" She started writing on the ground with her finger. Where her finger passed over the ground began to glow a bright pink color.

 _Pink. Why am I not surprised?_ Lilianna looked at Athena. The goddess was having a difficult time keeping her project from being defeated. The necromancer didn't doubt that she was a force to be reckoned with herself but wondered how powerful she was if she was going to rely on her project to fight for her. However, even she knew that Athena was a goddess of wisdom and war. She was the mistress of smart tactical warfare. Lilianna noticed Elspeth watching with a keen eye. _Does she have a plan? Is that why she has yet to intervene? It's unlike her to hold Gideon back._ The knight was in fact standing between an anxious Gideon and the battle. Kaechia, Kallist and Nissa waited patiently for Elspeth to give a signal. Kaious sat on her head and watched with piercing jade colored eyes.

Lilianna was suddenly very aware of the students' gazes focusing on her. They were watching her, waiting. They were waiting for her to tell them when and where to move. All of the adults grouped with them watched Elspeth. Even the lead Inquisitor watched the knight for what to do. Lilianna turned her gaze to Elspeth and watched her. _If we're going to do something it'll be by her direction._ She glanced at where Onyx Michael and David watched Jenny finish her magic circle. Instantly Cain froze. The effects of the spell took hold. Lilianna could see him trying to calculate around the spell but was getting no where. The Black Lotus Lily had done as Ral requested and was back that the hotel. Lilianna knew that he'd mentioned speaking with Echo. However she doubted that even the assassin could hack into someone's mind. Yes. The brain ran on electrical signals but no computer on this world had the capability to control and manipulate that. Jenny's spell was already showing signs of Cain's manipulation. He could already clench and unclench his fists.

"Onyx! Michael! David!" Lilianna called them back. The three of them did as she bid them and stood around her. She had never known the stress of being in charge. She decided that she didn't like it. She didn't like the way people looked at her, the way the students obeyed every order she gave them. She turned her attention back to Elspeth. Chandra was at the back of her mind. The redhead knew how to take care of herself and those with her. She realized in that moment just how much she had actually relied on the pyromancer. She suggested things to the redhead but she never actually told anyone else about the plan. Chandra did all of that. She did all of the talking and she was quick on her feet and able to make snap decisions that were unlikely to backfire. _Of course, being her roommate everyone looks to me now._ Lilianna cursed. _Dammit._ She took a deep steadying breath. _If you panic then you won't be taken seriously. Don't panic._ She turned and watched

Chandra knocked Jason into the ground. Instantly a fireball enveloped the kid courtesy of Yuri. He didn't get back up. He wasn't dead. Lilianna would know if he was. She took a deep breath.

"Now things get exciting," Michael muttered.


	33. Chapter 33

Chandra snarled, "C'mon dammit!" She knocked Jason into the ground. A fireball flew over her head and landed in the middle of the kid, "Stay down for half a second will you?" she watched him for a moment to make sure he was actually down and then turned her attention to Athena. She hovered above them. Her eyes glittered with cold contempt and yet a realization that she had in fact underestimated them. Her face hardened. Athena was determined to defeat them in the most efficient way possible. Golden glowing wisps rose from the ground around her.

Chandra leaped back in surprise. The four of them scattered. It was probably detrimental to be touched by one of them. The wisps solidified into glowing chains. Chandra ducked under one and leaped over another. Unfortunately Athena herself was a glowing ball of righteous hatred. Chandra watched the earth that the chains kicked up disintegrate as it passed through the barrier that Athena had created around herself. Her eyes widened. She leaped backwards and threw a blade into the barrier. The blade turned to shards of metallic dust. _Alright. So that's not gonna work._ She saw a chain catch Yuri from the corner of her eye. He was slammed into the wall on the edge of the school grounds. A resounding crack filled the air. The blond pyro fell to the ground with a dull thud and didn't get back up. He began to glow gold. Chandra looked from Athena to him and back again, "Alright." She pulled Isabelle out of the way of one of the chains and jumped over one coming at her from behind. She heard Hades snarl in rage. She barely saw him under the seven chains that held him.

 _Darkness comes with chains of hope and the phoenix shall cease to be._

Chandra gritted her teeth. She set Isabelle down. The girl warped the paths of the five chains that had leaped out at them. _That's two. Well. I think I know what the chains are. That means that the darkness is Athena. Well more accurately the power behind her._ She glanced at Isabelle, "Can you handle it?"

The girl's eyes were hard with determination but behind that she was obviously exhausted. She nodded stubbornly, "Oh yeah. I can go for as long as I need to."

Chandra nodded, "Alright." She looked up at Athena. _Damn. What the hell are we gonna do about you._ She heard the clinking of chain links behind her. She grabbed the exhausted Isabelle and leaped away. The extra weight slowed her down but she wasn't going to leave her to her own devices. Everyone was at the walls like she'd told them to be. _At least they're out of the way. However if we fall their next. I hope they can handle it._ Hades no longer had chains holding him to the ground but he was unconscious and his body glowed gold, the same as Yuri. Chandra's eyes narrowed. _Hope you say? Darkness comes with chains of hope. What kind of hope? Is_ _ **that**_ _what's going on?_

 _They're dreaming. Dreaming dreams they always wanted._

She leaped away from the chains again. She couldn't keep this up. Isabelle was less than able to get out of the way on her own. Chandra growled. _This isn't getting anywhere. It's nice to know they're dreaming. WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT IT?! I have to figure out how I'm going to get past that barrier of hers. If the barrier falls then so will she. Eventually. As long as we can keep her from putting it back up._ The chains were becoming more frequent. She cursed violently. She knew that if Athena kept that barrier up and kept coming with more and more chains that even she'd drop eventually. Isabelle was caught and pinned under four chains. It took nine to hold and keep Chandra. Even so, they didn't pin her to the ground. The moment a chain touched her she felt an almost false euphoria overcome her. She gritted her teeth and pushed around it. She sliced through two of the chains.

 _Draw on it. You have a protocol of your own. You can draw on her power. Store it for later._

Chandra's eyes widened. _WHAT?!_ She did as she was bid though, seeing it as the only real option. Athena pulled back away from her in absolute shock but the spell had taken affect. Chandra collapsed with a final snarl.

"Kurai. Lend me your telepathy," Elspeth said evenly.

The demon nodded, "As you wish, Elspeth."

"Gideon, Nissa," Elspeth turned to the two of them, "Keep the goddess preoccupied."

"Kyle and Rick will protect everyone else from any stray attacks," Lilianna inserted confidently. She didn't feel nearly as confident as she sounded but had learned a while ago that putting up a face of confidence even in a situation where she lacked it was the best way to get what she wanted.

Elspeth nodded.

Lilianna turned to the two boys she'd spoken of, "You two."

The two of them got to their feet and walked up to her.

"Yeah?" Kyle asked. His usual lazy, whiny attitude was gone. Even he was serious and willing to do anything.

"You're job is to protect the rest of us from any stray attacks from Athena," Lilianna explained.

The two of them nodded and positioned themselves next to each other in the center of the where the gate and entrance had been before the Black Lotus had so kindly destroyed it all. Gideon and Nissa leaped forward. Nissa used the power Elspeth had shown her how to use and turned the earth around her into monstrously powerful creatures. Lilianna scanned the gathered students. Her eyes narrowed, "Erin."

"Yes?" The runner hurried the short distance to her side.

"Get me Cristi, Kamiya and Caedrus." _Michael, David, and Onyx are already nearby so I'll talk to them now._ Lilianna watched Erin go. _I swear to God, you redheaded idiotic self righteous pyromaniac if you die during this I'm bringing you back and making you my slave for all of eternity._ She walked over to Michael, David, and Onyx, "Help Gideon and Nissa but don't get in their way."

The three of them nodded. Michael and David looked as though they'd actually gotten better over the course of the war. It was now well past sunset. It had started that morning. _Echo if you're going to do something then hurry it up. You're taking way, WAY too long._ She looked around. Erin was talking with Caedrus and had Cristi standing next to him. He was running around the outer edge of the battle field. Luckily Athena was too busy to notice him. He turned and hurried over to Kamiya. Once the two of them finished talking the girl teleported the four of them to Lilianna's side.

Lilianna looked at them, "Caedrus, help Gideon. Kamiya you're in charge of transportation basically. If someone get's hurt get them out."

The teleporter nodded. Caedrus was already gone.

"Cristi," Lilianna turned to the girl, "Help Kyle and Rick."

Cristi nodded. Her ability allowed her to create shock waves when her fist came into contact with something. She could also create those waves with her voice. More often than not she combined the two for a very destructive effect. With that ability she could redirect stray attacks and break up the earth, creating jagged pillars. That would allow Kyle to more quickly move the earth because he doesn't have to take the time to break it.

Lilianna could see Dawn tending to those too wounded to fight, and Ral because his idiotic self decided to draw on mana. Luckily he didn't draw on enough that he would die. He was just going to be very unpleasantly sick for the next few weeks. Tina shook the medic off and leaped into battle, even with a wounded shoulder. She admitted that Gideon and Nissa could probably do their job. But also the more targets Athena had the more likely she was the be occupied until Elspeth finished doing whatever it was she was doing. The fact that even Elspeth had called on the assistance of a demon surprised Lilianna. But then again this wouldn't be the first time the knight had done something unexpected. The battle was turning into a war of attrition. Athena had so many protective enchantments up that hitting her was very close to impossible. She did not however use her chains. Something about Chandra seemed to have made the goddess reluctant to do so again.

Jenny was constantly running over her magic circle to keep Cain out of the fight. Jace and Alice had long since lost consciousness. Luckily that kept them out of the fight. Lilianna knew that Jace at least, would've been a problem. There was definitely something none of them knew. Lilianna resolved to question them. Not immediately but she was going to get all of her answers. _Hopefully there aren't any others. There's Hades and Athena. I hope there aren't others._ Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head. _If there are we're all screwed. Unless we're lucky enough to never run into them._

Lilianna looked around in surprise as Elspeth approached, "What did you do?"

"You'll see," Elspeth nodded.

Rick barely managed to deflect the blades that rained down over the entire area of the courtyard. Cristi knocked more than she could count aside with a powerful wave. Kyle had a dome of earth surrounding the biggest area he could must. The blades kept falling. _How many of these damn things does she have?_

Kyle growled, "Why are they still coming?!"

"They're solid representations of her power," Lotus snapped. She dodged yet another blade and ducked under Kyle's earth shield, "They'll keep coming."

"Seriously?" Cristi asked tiredly.

Tina nodded, "Yeah. She is a never ending power supply."

"Is Elspeth done yet?"

"She's talking with Lilianna so I would assume so," Tina said. She looked at her three friends, "Just do your best."

The three of them nodded. Their faces hardened with renewed determination.

Tina leaped back out into the fray. She had to admit, without Gideon and Nissa even with how many of them were fighting at the moment this would've gotten really ugly really fast. As it is Caedrus and David were out. The blades conveniently missed those that were a part of her project as well as those that were under her chain spell. Tina didn't know what that had been but it'd brought down Phoenix which made her very glad Athena didn't seem keen on using it again. She was more than amazed that they'd held out this long even though they knew so little of what was actually going on.

Suddenly a giant flaming bird flew right through Athena. The goddess was left disoriented and forced to land on the ground. A fireball formed underneath her and exploded, sending her flying upward.

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting about somebody?!"

Everyone turned in shock even Athena. Tina felt a smile creeping onto her face.

"Bring down the shields!" Lilianna's voice rose above the relieved excited chattering that had arisen.

Rick, Kyle and Cristi pulled their shields down and leaped out of the battlefield. Everyone backed off.

 _Phoenix. Buy me three more minutes._

The redhead nodded, "You got it Echo." She looked at the three standing around her, "You guys up for it? Three minutes."

Hades and Yuri nodded.

Isabelle smirked, "I'm down."

Athena growled in frustration. The chains leaped out at them again. Chandra leaped forward and sliced through two of them. Isabelle warped the paths of the rest. The chains imbedded themselves in the ground instead of wrapping around them.

" _What are you doing lying down here?"_

 _Chandra glared at Elspeth but could hold it for long, "Took you long enough." She took the blond's outstretched hand and rose to her feet, "I was getting tired of fighting with an illusion."_

 _She had woken up and suddenly everything was exactly how she'd always wanted it to be. It was weird. The peaceful air was almost suffocating. Everything she'd wished she'd done had been done. Everyone she'd wished she'd been able to protect was protected. They were alive and well but, though it was everything she wanted, it wasn't right. Life was boring. It wasn't what she really wanted. She'd often wondered what life would be like if she'd made all the right choices. She realized that making all the right choices wasn't what life was about at all. It was the wrong choices that made life fun. That made life exciting. That made life worth living. She smirked, "So when do I get to go back then?"_

 _Elspeth met her gaze with calm blue eyes, "Whenever you like." The images around her faded and she opened her eyes to cold hard ground. She could hear battle going on nearby. She got to her feet and shook her head. The other three were also waking up. She saw an earthen wall between Athena's torrent of blades and those gathered at the walls. So many of her friends were fighting the goddess. She smirked and looked at the others, "Ready to go?"_

" _More than," Yuri nodded._

 _Isabelle was already on her feet and ready to go. Her eyes glowed with a kind of confidence that Chandra hadn't seen in her before. Hades looked just as ready, "Anytime you are."_

 _Chandra smirked, "Yuri."_

" _Hm?"_

" _Fire if you please?"_

 _He complied._

Chandra grinned excitedly. _Three minutes. That's all the time we need to buy. This'll be fun!_


	34. Chapter 34

_Yuri stared around him in shock, "What?"_

" _What do you mean?" Tessa asked. She was sitting in the courtyard reading a book with Alice._

 _He shook his head, "Nothing. Nothing."_

" _Yuri," Kamiya looked him over worriedly, "Are you alright?"_

" _Yeah. Of course," Yuri nodded. He smiled at her, "I'm fine."_

" _Okay," Kamiya nodded and teleported to Tessa's side, "C'mon! Chandra said she'd take us all to lunch if we wanted._

 _Yuri nodded, "Sure."_ This doesn't make any sense. I remember fighting Athena. Athena hasn't been activated though according to them. And…they're fine. Tessa looked happy even. When was the last time she looked happy?

" _Guys!" Jade ran up to them. She grinned excitedly, "Look! Look! Jace and Erin are gonna race again."_

" _Again?" Tessa shook her head, "Erin knows he's never gonna beat him."_

 _Yuri watched them in amusement. Everyone was happy. No one seemed to be in any pain, emotional or otherwise._ I mean _Jace_ is humoring Erin and racing him just because Erin wants to be faster than him. _Yuri felt a warm happy feeling rise up inside him. This was the way things should be. No one should have to go through the pain his friends had to. No one deserved to be held down by a past like that. Cain, naturally was calculating Erin's possibility of actually beating Jace._

" _Of course it also depends on whether or not Jace decides to go easy on him," Cain explained, mostly to himself. Yuri listened. He made an effort to listen to all of them, make them all feel as welcome and loved as possible._

 _Leisa, Athena's usual personality, laughed, "C'mon Cain. Why would Jace go easy on him. You know he's just as competitive as Chandra, if not more so."_

 _Yuri smiled. He noticed Elspeth watching him, leaning against the school building. She mouthed the words "come here". Yuri looked at Tessa, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get my water bottle."_

 _Tessa nodded, "Of course."_

Why did I lie to her? _Something about Elspeth's face told him it had to be done. Her eyes were hard and grave. And yet it looked as though she understood completely._

" _Yuri."_

 _He nodded. Her tone unnerved him, "Yes?"_

" _Is this what you want? A world where everyone, even those haunted by horrific pasts, are happy?"_

 _Yuri looked around._ Is this not the world I live in? Is this the dream and the battle with Athena is the reality? _"Yes," he admitted quietly, "I want everyone to be happy. I want to be able to see everyone smiling and enjoying the life that they have now, instead of being held down by their pasts. I've never seen any of them smile. They're always so serious and so far removed from the rest of us."_

" _Then help them smile. Living in a false world where they are happy will never be the same as bringing happiness to them yourself when they are so down," Elspeth urged._

 _Yuri looked up at her, "I never thought of it that way. Honestly I was beginning to think they'd never smile. No matter how hard I tried I'd never see them be truly happy."_

" _Watch them and you'll see how much progress you've already made," Elspeth_ _held out her hand for him to take_ _. The entire image faded_ _once he took her hand_ _._

Yuri looked at Chandra, "How much longer?"

"Just under two minutes."

He nodded, "Alright."

Isabelle had a grin as wide as Chandra usually did. She warped the paths of the blades that rained on them. Chandra grinned, "You look just as crazy as I do!"

"Oh can it!" Isabelle snapped.

Chandra laughed, "Make me!" Looked at Hades and nodded. The two of them shot forward. Isabelle made it so the blades didn't hit any of them. Athena was once again floating above the ground. Chandra leaped into the air. She super heated the air around her and floated on the cold air, "What's up?" She smirked and attacked.

Isabelle watched the redhead in both amusement and awe. By showing them the things they desired Athena had unwittingly given them the push they needed to beat her. Isabelle remembered her own dream.

 _She opened her eyes. Her sister was bouncing her bed eagerly, "C'mon Izzy! C'mon!"_

 _Isabelle nodded, "Alright. Alright. I'm coming." She yawned, "What is it Cristi?" Everything had been completely forgotten in favor of giving her sister her full attention._

" _I found Mom!"_

" _Huh? But how would you know her? We were both raised in the orphanage," Isabelle asked in surprise._

" _I found Mom!" Cristi repeated, "I asked them to look into her."_

" _Oh," Isabelle pushed down her excitement. She'd always wanted to meet her mother but practically speaking there was no point in doing so now. She sighed, "Look that's cool and all but why meet her now?"_

 _Cristi shrugged, "I just thought you should know. Oh and this was in your mailbox." The younger girl held out a sealed envelope._

 _Isabelle swallowed nervously, "Alright." She opened it uneasily. Instantly her eyes widened, "What?! The Philharmonic? What? Why would they want to talk to me?"_

" _I don't know." Cristi shrugged, "I got one too."_

 _Isabelle looked at her in surprise._ Something's off. Cristi's not a music student. Sure I've always wanted to be able to join the Philharmonic of the area and I always wanted Cristi to be able to do it with me. _Suddenly she remembered that she'd been fighting with Athena last she knew. She looked out the window. They were back in Ascension City. The others were all there, acting like the trip to Elendeth had gone over completely smoothly. Kyle was complaining about how their beds were rocks compared to the private school's. Rick was humoring him while Yuri talked with Leisa and Emalia. Emalia skipped over to her, "Oh! You're letter! Aren't you excited?!" Isabelle's roommate grinned excitedly._

 _Isabelle nodded, "Y-yeah!"_

" _Are you okay?" Emalia asked. She leaned in close and scrutinized her friend, "You're not mooning over-"_

" _I don't moon over anybody!" Isabelle snapped angrily._

" _You sure?" Emalia smirked._

" _I'm just surprised that's all."_

" _Man, and here I was thinking you might like Cain."_

" _Huh? Not to be mean or anything but I've never held any sort of conversation with him. Let alone anything else."_ My God. Of course Emalia would just throw a random name out there. She's just the kind of person that can see a budding relationship in anything. I'm starting to think she's living vicariously through me. _Isabelle then noticed Elspeth standing in the corner. She got to her feet quickly._ I knew something wasn't right. _"I'll be right back."_

" _Are you alright?! I didn't make you mad did I?!" Emalia called after her._

 _Isabelle didn't answer. She followed Elspeth out to the backside of the campus, "Elspeth. What is this?"_

" _A dream. A dream in which your dreams are supposed to become your reality," Elspeth explained._

" _That's why the Philharmonic sent both me and my sister a letter even though my sister isn't a music student?"_

" _Yes," Elspeth nodded._

" _How do I get out?" Isabelle asked instantly, "If you're all still fighting Athena then I don't want to stay in this dream."_

 _Elspeth smiled and held out her hand._

 _Isabelle smirked and took it._

Isabelle smirked, "Yuri, quit playing around!"

"I'm not!"

"Your aim is terrible even with your damned fireballs!" Isabelle snapped.

"I'm sorry!"

"Would you two please stop arguing and pay ATTENTION?!" Chandra said as she dropped down beside them. She picked up Isabelle and leaped out of the way of three of Athena's chains. Hades dropped in front of Yuri and four chains hit an invisible wall in front of him and shattered. He was probably strong enough to carry the blond but he wouldn't be fast enough to get out of the way in time. They'd all had their own dreams. Their own desires were fulfilled. Elspeth came to each of them and reminded them that there is hope beyond a fruitless dream. Hades was going to keep his dream to himself. Elspeth would be the only other person to know that what he wanted more than anything was a family. People that cared about him and loved him. He had known from the beginning that it was an illusion. He just didn't want to leave it behind. All Elspeth had done was remind him the Chandra had offered that he join their family. The family that was the student body of the school, dysfunctional though it may be. He had turned her down every time she'd offered because he'd been afraid. He'd been afraid of the principal but more than that he had been afraid it was a joke. Now he could see that it wasn't. The entire student body watched them in awe. Their eyes glowed brightly, warmly.

Elendeth City was known as the most accepting haven in the world. They welcomed anyone that had a nice heart no matter what their past or even the origins and the attitude of those that shared their title with open arms. They would love them and care for them. Elendeth City was in itself a family. It didn't matter to this city if you were a demon or an angel. If your good intentions matched your actions, or you were on a path that led to a brighter road the city would welcome you. Hades understood this now and had already promised to protect the city. He'd promised Elspeth that he would do his very best.

Chandra caught Athena as she dropped. The armor faded and the girl's hair returned to it's original shoulder blade length. The girl was unconscious and bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. Dawn was there in an instant, having been teleported by Kamiya. Chandra set her down and got to her feet. She stumbled for a second, suddenly remembering the beating she'd taken. She shook her head and looked around. Jenny dispelled her magic circle. Nix set Cain down gently on the ground. Ral was doing better, though he was still pale and sick looking. Lily landed in front of her, "Wow. You guys got beat up while I was gone."

"Eh," Chandra shrugged. Yuri was lying on the ground. He was conscious but suddenly in quite a bit of pain. She looked at Lily, "Put him to sleep."

"No," Yuri sat up painfully and slowly.

Chandra nodded, "Yeah."

Lily did so with a small cut onto his shoulder. He was unconscious within half a minute.

Isabelle sat down next to him and looked at the destruction they'd caused. The dorm buildings were fine. She got to her feet and put in the password that would turn the buildings back into their normal tower like structures.

Chandra sat down on the ground and yawned, "I need a nap."

"Then sleep."

She looked up to see Lilianna standing over her. The necromancer had a very disapproving look on her face. Chandra laughed, "Nice to know you care Lili."

"Shut up," Lilianna sat down next to her, "You are such an incessant little brat..."

Chandra tuned her out and turned her attention to her nap. Everything was going to be fine for a little while at least. Now that everything had been taken care of there was no reason for her to stay awake.


	35. Chapter 35

Jace opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that his head hurt. A lot. Then he noticed that the room was kind of dark. The curtains on the window were black and closed, though given the amount of light he did have he could safely assume that it was near the middle of the day. He could distantly smell something cooking. It did smell good but at the same time it made him queasy. _Whatever. I'm just gonna go back to sleep. I'll figure out how much time has passed later._

"Oh c'mon!" he heard Rick just outside his door, "I just wanted to see if he was awake."

"No. You want to see if you can be a pain in his ass," Jace recognized Tessa's hard voice and couldn't help but smirk. He remained quiet though so as to allow her to continue to think he was more than likely asleep. The blanket smelled like it had been recently washed. He yawned. _I'm going back to sleep._ He closed his eyes.

When next Jace opened his eyes the lighting of the room was practically the same. _Did I really sleep that long?_ He got to his feet. His hunger drove him out of the room.

"Hey!" Rick was waiting for him. He picked Jace up and slung him over his shoulder without warning.

"Wha-HEY! Put me DOWN!" Jace started to struggle though he didn't put much effort into it. He wanted to be put down but not badly enough to hurt him.

Rick went tearing through the hallways yodeling about how Jace was awake and had decided to come out of the room.

"I said put me down!" Jace insisted. From what he could see it looked like the hotel but the world was very different when it was upside down.

"He's awake," Rick said. Jace could easily imagine the grin plastered on the larger and older boy's face. His eyes narrowed almost gleefully. He grabbed Rick's brown hair and pulled, hard. Rick yelped and almost dropped him, "Alright. I'll put you down." Jace turned away from him once his feet were safely on the ground and stalked away crossly. He could here Kyle laughing, "Finally he does it to someone other than me."

"It's almost Christmas!" Ral said excitedly. He got up a little too fast and had to sit back down before he vomited. He decided that mana poisoning was not something he wanted again. Ever.

"Alright and?" Lilianna looked at him, "I doubt you'll be doing anything anyway."

"Well," Ral grinned, "That doesn't mean we can't celebrate! We can have fun for the first time in MONTHS!"

Chandra cocked her head to the side, "We could."

Matching grins plastered themselves on Michael and David's faces.

"Not you two," Tina snapped.

Their grins only widened.

"See Ral!" Tina glared at the lightning mage, "Look what you did! We could have had a couple more weeks of peace if you hadn't said anything!"

"You know you miss it," Michael wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I do not," Tina crossed her arms over her chest angrily.

"Is Jace still pissed at Rick?" Michael asked.

Chandra glanced at the corner where their cat eared friend was sulking, "Nope. He's trying not to smile." She felt his blue eyes glaring at her back and smirked at him.

David suddenly leaped up, "I have an idea! How about for Christmas everyone gets a present for everyone else. That way everyone gets a present and-"

"Everyone gets a shit ton of presents that we won't be able to fit anywhere," Tina corrected, "Do you see the problem there?"

David grinned and shook his head, "Nope!"

Michael looked at her, "What's the problem with presents?"

"C'mon Lotus," Chandra smirked, "Help spread the love."

"I'm not buying presents for every god damn person in the city!" Tina snapped.

"Not the city," Lilianna shook her head, "We're talking about the school."

"Still!" Tina snapped.

Chandra smirked, "Fine then you don't get any presents."

"I'm fine without presents!" Tina insisted.

"Are you really?" Michael asked.

David smirked knowingly.

Tina growled at them, "Yeah!"

"Really?" Ral asked, "You seem kind of put out."

"Would you guys shut up ALREADY?!" Tine snapped angrily.

"But we don't want to leave you out if that's not what you really want," Michael said.

She gritted her teeth, "Fine. I'll get something small for everyone."

Michael and David grinned, "Of course!"

Chandra smiled, "Yay." She got to her feet, "Hey Jace."

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not celebrating just because you guys want to."

"Cat Ears!" Ral jogged over to him. He leaned against the wall closest to Jace, "C'mon! We're celebrating Christmas!"

"No. You're celebrating Christmas."

"And when was the last time you had fun?" Chandra asked.

"I'm not celebrating with you guys," Jace shook his head, "I'm not getting caught in one of Michael and David's traps. I'm not going to get caught in one of Rick's-"

"C'mon Cat Ears. Michael and David set traps but it'll be the entire school!" Ral insisted.

"No."

"Alright," Chandra smirked and held the medallion in front of Jace's face. He reached out to grab it but she pulled it away from him. Understanding dawned on him and he gritted his teeth, "I hate you so damn much right now."

"Jace. Language."

Jace turned in surprise, "Elspeth? It's not like it's not true."

Chandra smiled, "Celebrate Christmas with us and this will be your present from me."

Jace gritted his teeth and remained silent for a while. He hung his head in defeat, "Fine."

"Damn Be-"

"Ral. Language."

"Right. Sorry!" Ral sighed, "Anyway, that was kind of manipulative."

Chandra shrugged, "He's celebrating with us and it's not like the promise is empty."

Ral nodded, "Okay."

Jace growled, "I hate you. I hate. Hate. HATE you."

"It's so important that you had to repeat yourself three times before finishing the sentence?" Chandra asked. She whistled softly, "Wow."

Jace growled, "I hate you."

The four days till Christmas passed uneventfully. They had started rebuilding the school building and everyone that had been injured was healed enough to be able to be up and doing their normal activities without having to worry too much. The dorms hadn't been damaged thanks to the alloy Ral'd discovered and lined every wall with.

"Cat Ears! Get up! It's Christmas morning!" Ral started bouncing Jace's bed.

Jace growled and curled up tighter and deeper under his blanket. Eventually Ral annoyed him enough that he sat up, "I swear by everything that is holy Ral Zarek!"

Ral stepped back but his excited grin did not fade, "Remember you promised."

Jace gritted his teeth, "I remember. But does that mean you have to wake me up before DAWN?"

"Ral! Jace! C'mon!" Michael and David called from outside their room.

"See!" Ral shook the bed one last time before heading to the door.

"Whatever happened to your side of the room anyway?!" Jace snapped at him.

Ral shrugged, "The curtains gone."

Jace stared at him, "That shouldn't even be necessary anymore!"

"Apparently it is," Ral sighed, "C'mon Cat Ears! You're being slow."

"Fine. I'm coming. I'm coming," Jace muttered unenthusiastically. He followed Ral down the stairs and into the courtyard. A giant tree sat in the middle of the courtyard with lights and ornaments all over it. Jace had helped decorate it the day before though the fact that they were decorating a _tree_ hadn't made any sense to him at all. A whole bunch of boxes were spread out under the tree and the first and second principals, now the principal and assistant principal respectively, as well as the PE teacher, Mr. Rice, Mrs. Hills, and a couple teachers Jace recognized but didn't know by name were all dressed up as different things that were apparently associated with Christmas. All of them had red and white hats on. The students gathered in front of them eagerly and impatiently. Jace still didn't get it thought the concept had been explained to him. He shrugged it off and assumed that the excitement came with having grown up with the holiday.

The PE teacher was dressed up as Santa Claus. Everyone else was a deer an elf or a snowman.

"Honestly I wonder if Beautiful followed through on her promise," Ral wondered out loud.

"She better have," Jace muttered.

"Alright. So in honor of our strengthened friendship, everyone has gotten a present for everyone else," the principal said, "If your first class of the day in the beginning of the year was English I want you to gather in front of Mr. Lazano. If your first class of the day was History, I want you to go to Mr. Rice. Math goes to Mrs. Hills. Science goes to Mrs. Elia. If you had an extra curricular instead of class you're with Mrs. Haliel. If you had an elective like Art or PE for first you're going to Jim."

Everyone gathered around their appointed teacher.

Mr. Rice cleared his throat dramatically, "If I butcher your names I'm sorry. I'm awful at names."

"You still can't say your own student's names Mr.," Erin muttered.

"That is not the point Erin," Mr. Rice said teasingly, "Anyway, everyone gather around. I will be handing out presents. I hope you can carry seven hundred or however many students there are in this school. And hopefully you can fit them into your rooms." He looked at Ral and Jace, "Without invading your roommates space."

Jace glared at Ral.

"What?" Ral asked innocently.

The presents were handed out slowly, especially by Mr. Rice who didn't know anyone's names and spent two minutes trying to pronounce the more complicated ones. Eventually everyone got their presences though. A giant group of all the students formed, all excitedly wanting to ask the others what they got. Jace sat a distance away, completely fed up. He didn't want to be outside anymore. He could already guess what Ral got him. It was wrapped but it wasn't a box and he'd heard the PE teacher cursing as he tried to wrap it the night before. All the wrapping paper was covered in designs similar to the tree's decorations. He knew he couldn't carry everything to his room and he didn't want most of it anyway. A lot of it was rather big. It wasn't like he had the room for all that stuff. He had the medallion but the sneaky little redhead had stolen the ring from him. He saw her smirking at him a little distance away. He growled and looked up at the sky. It still wasn't very late into the day.

"Hey Jace!" Michael and David hurried up to him followed by Yuri, Cain and Jenny.

"What did you get?!" Jenny asked excitedly. She started skipping around him.

Jace ignored them.

"C'mon," Michael wasn't going to bother working his way through the presents that surrounded Jace to reach him, "We want to know."

Jace shrugged, "Does it matter? It won't fit in my room. There's no reason for any of it and-"

"Of course there's reason!" David grinned.

"You're our friend and we care," Michael shrugged.

"C'mon," Jenny was not so against climbing over his presents. She shoved one at him insistently, "What's in it?"

Jace sighed and grabbed it. It was relatively small and from Alice. He opened it and cocked his head to the side. Inside the small box was a beaded bracelet. _What's with all the jewelry anyway? I don't like jewelry. I've gotten a necklace from Chandra and one from Lilianna. Now I've got a bracelet from Alice._ He shrugged and set it aside.

Jenny grabbed another present, "Next!" It was big enough lifting it required some effort and setting it down without crushing her, Jace or both was even more challenging. He sighed and took it from her. He set it down off to the side and opened it. Inside was a box that according to the packaging held a small bookshelf. Jace looked at Cain, who'd gotten it for him in surprise.

"I noticed your books were lying in and around your desk," Cain explained.

Jace shrugged, "Alright." _Jewelry and furniture. Great. Where am I gonna put a bookshelf anyway? I mean it's small. There's only three shelves but where the hell am I gonna put a bookshelf._

The rest of the group that called themselves his friends, because he still denied to himself at least that they were friends, were beginning to gather. He suddenly realized how big it was. Nearly every kid from Ascension City and then Michael and David and their friend. There was also Ral, Lilianna and Chandra. He forced down the almost bubbly happy feeling that rose up inside him and watched Jenny sift through the other presents.

"If my calculations are correct then everyone has around seven hundred twenty for presents each," Cain said.

Jace had basically gotten a variation of the same thing for everyone. He'd asked Ral what a good idea for a present was and Ral suggested he get something small and simple. Hypocritical as it sounded he'd gotten a whole bunch of small stuffed animals unlike Ral who'd spent all his money on the biggest stuffed animals he could find.

Jenny picked up Ral's gift, "This one."

Ral grinned.

Jace rolled his eyes, "I don't have to open it." He set it aside, "It's a stuffed animal. I'll bet good money it's a cat."

Ral shook his head, "C'mon Cat Ears. Just unwrap it!"

Jace glared at him, "I already know what it is."

"Please?"

"Fine. As long as you shut up I'll open it," Jace growled.

Ral agreed silently.

Jace opened it. He was not wrong. This time it was large but smaller than he was. It was a stuffed panther. He set it aside again.

Jenny kept handing him presents and he opened them. Chandra gave him the medallion like she'd promised but she did have the ring which meant he was still at square one as far as that argument was concerned. He was still trying to figure out _how_ she managed to get it. Michael had gotten him a stuffed animal just to annoy him. The card that came with it even said so. The blondie got a cold glare in response. David had gotten him a trampoline. Jace stared at him, "A trampoline? What in the _hell_ am I supposed to do with a _trampoline_?"

David shrugged, "I don't know. It's made for jumping on."

Jace shook his head, "Whatever." Onyx had gotten him a set of arrows. How he found out Jace could use a bow he had no idea but apparently they were quite rare and extremely high quality. He rolled his eyes. _I swear._ He was pretty sure that information had come from Ral or Chandra. Lilianna was a possibility but Jace doubted it. He got a low of jewelry for some reason he couldn't understand. Maybe it's just that jewelry's easy to come by. It was mostly necklaces and bracelets. He sighed. A lot of the big stuff was completely random. There was a bike, a computer. He assumed that whoever got him the computer didn't know him all that well because he hated technology. There was furniture that he'd never hope to be able to fit in the dorm room. Why everyone insisted on that he didn't have a clue but since everyone was getting presents for everyone else things were bound tot get odd. He got a gigantic art kit that had everything from a sketchbook to clay from Erin. He also got books. Lots and lots of books.

Jace sighed in relief when he finally finished opening the presents. He had a whole bunch of stuff he didn't want or know what to do with and none of it would fit in the dorm room let alone his side of it. Ral of course jut got technology, technology and more technology with a few other things scattered here and there. His interests were easier to cater to. Jace had gotten a lot of books and bookshelf like pieces of furniture. Not as many as Alice but he wasn't as excited to read the books as she was either. She also had a roommate that didn't mind having books and bookshelves everywhere. If his stuff was everywhere then Ral's stuff would be everywhere and then they'd forget what belonged to who. _I have to put the curtains back up._ Jace really didn't feel like moving. He listened to the ambient conversation around him boredly.

"Hey!" Jade came out of the girls' dorm after having dropped off her stuff, "Melody's made sweets!"

The entire student body left the courtyard. Jace stayed outside along with a couple others enjoying the solace of the sudden quiet. His solace didn't last long. Michael and David came to get him and dragged him into the girls' dorm common room. The entire bottom floor had been cleared and rows of tables filled with Christmas themed sweets filled the room instead. The air was so cloying sweet that Jace gagged. He had never wanted to be in his room more in his life.

"C'mon!" Jade grabbed his arm and dragged him to the closest edge of the first table before he could argue.

Jace whined slightly in protest but didn't vocalize it otherwise. Michael and David followed and made him grab every single sweet that was available.

"Do you want me to get sick?" Jace muttered.

"C'mon. The whole point of this is to put everyone in a sugar coma," Michael insisted.

"I don't want to be in a sugar coma," Jace snapped.

"Melody made them. It's only fair that the three of us taste test everything that she's made," David added.

"Why me?" Jace asked.

"You've eaten her homemade cookies," David shrugged.

"You're a professional," Michael added.

Jade smiled.

Jace sighed, "Fine, but I'm definitely not eating all of _everything_. I'll eat like a little bit." _Why the hell am I agreeing to this? This is stupid. I'm going to be so sick. The last time I ate anywhere near this much was because of Nix. And that wasn't all sweet._ He shook his head, "I'm an idiot."

"By the way, Caedrus and Onyx volunteered to move all your heavy ass gifts into your dorm room," Michael said.

"Don't worry," David said as Jace turned to stare at them, "we told them to make sure it was on your side of the room."

Jace only relaxed a little bit. He stared at the tables of sweets they still had to go, "Can this be it for now?"

"No!" Michael and David continued to push him onward.

Jace gave in. He didn't bother thinking too deeply as to why he did so. That would probably lead to an answer he wasn't sure he was comfortable with. _I'm going to be so sick after this. Hopefully Chandra won't make Nix look after me again. I don't want to go through that again. Speaking of which I think the dye might still be hidden in my dresser. I'll do that later._


	36. Chapter 36

Chandra laughed as she watched Michael and David push Jace through the entire assembly line of food. She shook her head, "He's gonna be so sick."

"If you look at his face he knows it," Lilianna said.

Chandra nodded, "Yeah. That's what makes this funny."

"He knows and yet he allows them to push him to continue," Lilianna cocked her head to the side, "However how the three of them are going to carry that much food to a table or couch without dropping any is a mystery to me."

Chandra shrugged, "They'll figure something out." She grabbed two cookies and handed one to Lilianna. The necromancer glared at her but took it. She smirked at her, "No. I'm not passive aggressively insulting you. I'm being nice."

"I'll believe that when the sun stops shining," Lilianna retorted.

Chandra shrugged, "Believe what you like, Zombie-lover."

"I hate that," Lilianna said evenly.

"Why do you think I call you it?"

"You've spent far too much time with that lightning idiot."

"And if I have?" Chandra glanced at her, "Princess?"

"You do not have my permission to call me that."

Chandra snorted, "Neither does he."

"It won't stop him," Lilianna shrugged indifferently, "and I much prefer that he call me Princess than you."

"Oh. Okay," Chandra nodded sarcastically, "I see how it is. Playing favorites are we?"

"When it comes to choosing you or another I will always play favorites," Lilianna promised.

"I bet," Chandra turned back to watching people devour the sweets Melody had made. She smirked, "Princess."

"Chandra Nalaar. I will personally ensure that your grave is filled if you do not stop."

Chandra laughed, "Okay. Okay. I won't do it again."

Lilianna looked at her doubtfully.

"Until the next time," she shrugged.

"As I thought," Lilianna nodded, "you filthy little rat."

Chandra laughed, "You never change." She began to walk away, "See ya, Greedy Queen of Diamonds."

"Same to you, Heartless Queen of Hearts."

Chandra smiled and walked over to Michael, David and Jace, "Having fun you three?"

"No," Jace said flatly.

"Ignore him," Michael said.

"He's having a blast," David added.

"I am not."

"Then tell me why you were smiling earlier," the twins said in unison.

Jace froze and his face turned bright red. He looked away from them, "I was not smiling."

"I bet," Chandra said.

Suddenly Jace glared at her, "You stole the ring from me."

"That I did," Chandra nodded, "I did not say that you got to keep the ring. I said you'd be able to have the medallion."

"How even?" Michael asked. He looked from Chandra to Jace in surprise.

"It's impossible to steal something from either of you," David added.

Chandra shrugged, "Can't tell. Then he'd know the next time I tried it."

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Fine."

"Are you gonna have some too?" Jade asked.

Chandra shrugged and lifted up the chocolate chip cookie that was in her hand, "I already have."

"Oh," Jade said.

Chandra looked at Jace, Michael, and David, "How...exactly do you plan on eating all of that?"

Jace shrugged unenthusiastically.

"We'll figure something out."

Chandra followed them to a table outside.

Jace stared at the ground, "This isn't possible."

"C'mon," Michael grinned, "We'll do it!"

"Why the hell did I even let you talk me into this?" Jace growled.

Chandra laughed. She reached out to steal something from him. He hit her hand away. She smirked, "Well you obviously don't want to share."

Jace hissed at her but didn't say anything.

Michael laughed, "Maybe he just doesn't like you."

"Cat Ears loves us," Ral grinned as he sat down between Jace and David.

"Hey Ral. Nice of you to join us," Chandra sat back and watched Jace stare dully at the sweets he'd allowed Michael and David to pile up. She shook her head, "I do not envy you your situation tonight."

"Shut up," Jace muttered.

"Let's start with the...cheesecake!" David said.

Jace gagged, "I don't like cheesecake."

"You've never had cheesecake," Chandra reminded him sharply.

"It just sounds gross. Why would it even be called cheesecake anyway?"

"You're asking me?" Chandra shrugged.

"It's good," Michael promised.

Jace nibbled at it and decided he didn't like it.

Ral shook his head, "You can't decide you don't like it if you've barely tasted it, Cat Ears."

Jace glared at him.

Chandra shook her head in amusement, "Well. I'm gonna go find somewhere to put all the lovely things you all got me."

"You've spent too much time with Princess, Beautiful," Ral said flatly.

"According to her I've spent too much time with you," Chandra shrugged, "It can't be helped. You're all bad influences."

"I'd be more likely to believe you're a bad influence," Jace muttered.

"I'm a bad influence?" Chandra asked indignantly, "Without me you wouldn't be alive right now."

"And?" Jace looked at her, "You're also the sole reason no one has any sense of self preservation anymore. If not for you we'd all be living much _safer_ lives."

"But would it be as fun?" she smirked and walked up the stairs.

Lilianna was already organizing her part of the room when Chandra opened the door, "Did you get bored?"

"Kind of. Jace didn't want to eat it all but he wouldn't share."

"Oh," Lilianna rolled her eyes.

Chandra set everything that would fit on her desk. The rest of it went in her dresser. It took a bit of effort to shut the top two drawers and she probably wouldn't be able open them very easily anymore. She pulled the ring piece of the treasure out of her pocket, "What do you think is so important about a handful of relics?"

"Maybe the fact that they have accumulated enough power to destroy a good section of the multiverse?"

"But doesn't Bolas want to rule the multiverse? I doubt he'd want to truly destroy it," Chandra looked at Lilianna seriously.

"I don't know. That dragon has back up plans for his back up plans," Lilianna shook her head, "There's no real way of telling whether or not he'll actually use Serra's Lost Treasure the moment he gets it."

"Hm," Chandra nodded.

"Alright, I have a question for you," Lilianna turned to her. "What was with Athena? She flipped out just before you lost consciousness."

Chandra shrugged, "I don't know.

"Areu."

"Yes?"

Nicol Bolas studied his minion curiously. The man's obsession with Crimson Phoenix was the number one thing that drove him. However he would obey the dragon's orders to the letter without failure, "How are our...children doing?"

"Thus far everything is progressing as expected."

"Perfect," Bolas sneered, "Throw another challenge their way. I wish to see how this will play out in the end."

"What kind of challenge would you desire?" Areu asked devotedly.

"Well," Bolas paused to run through his options. There were so many. He could send Areu himself to challenge the school kids. He decided against it because the man was much too useful to be allowed to die at the moment. He could appear before them but his current plan required that he stay out of sight and out of mind. Mostly. As long as they had more pressing things to worry about it would work. Suddenly an idea dawned on him, "Activate another of the gods."

"Which one?"

Bolas remained silent for many moments. _Not Athena. Not Hades. I wish to save Ares and Zeus for later. Hera and Artemis are not yet combat ready. That leaves one._ "Activate the Nix Protocol. But wait to do so until they are ready to face her. Also. I wish you to begin the Nike, Demeter and Eris projects."

Areu nodded, "Of course. I shall send the command to the head immediately."

Bolas nodded, "Ah. One more thing."

"Yes."

"Prepare Ares and Zeus for combat and hasten the Artemis and Hera projects."

Areu nodded dutifully, "Of course." He left.

Bolas shifted as he was no longer comfortable. He watched the planeswalkers celebrate their holiday in amusement, "Enjoy the fun while it lasts, Children." Chandra spoke with Lilianna about the treasure he had managed to convince them to find for him. He had no intention of using it himself but had no doubt that the redhead at least would not hesitate to do so if put in the correct circumstances. He wasn't entirely positive if they were allowing themselves to be manipulated or not. As long as they did as he wanted he wasn't going to complain. This time he was going to win. He would make sure of it. He knew that Serra's Lost Treasure would give them the information that would give them the final push they needed without his intervention. He'd spent many a millennia studying the three pieces. The Medallion was made of thousands of memories stored within the heart. The Ring, easily manipulated and transferred from one wearer to the next, made up the mind. The memories stored within one's mind were easily played with and even removed. The Being was the soul. The soul was eternal and ultimately unchangeable. Changes to one's soul took many reincarnations. That's why Ugin's loops had been so effective. Only those that understood both darkness and light could change a person's soul in a lifetime. That was the true reason the redheaded assassin/pyromancer was so valuable. Both dragons had known of her deep innate understanding from the beginning.

Speculation amongst ancient beings such as dragons and vampires led to the assumption that such a complex innate understanding could only be obtained by a being born directly from mana itself. The land created it's vessel from the power within it and that vessel, supposedly, would return to the land once it's duty was fulfilled. Bolas did not believe that Chandra would return to the land. He doubted she was made from it but was almost certain she would not return. A being made from energy itself could not have been broken into the four pieces her soul and power were now in. However her chaotic and yet malleable nature made it plausible that she was truly an incarnation of the land's whims. Also she was the only one that did not exist in the first incarnation of the time line. She was created by neither dragon but appeared somewhere around the 500th loop. So many thousands of loops have come and gone since then. She had been present in everyone afterwards and was as alive as any of the others. Bolas was extremely intrigued by her very existence. Even the necromancer was willing to put her own desires on hold to help those she'd allied with because of the pyromancer. Lilianna of course would push it off as holding up her reputation but there was something every so slightly different within her.

A fleeting fancy of his that had surfaced many times throughout this particular loop was to let Ugin live and watch this develop further. He often wondered how far the pyromancer could go before inevitably running herself ragged. However like every other time it was acknowledged as a fleeting fancy and something he would ultimately regret indulging.

"I guess I must express my gratitude to you Children," Bolas mused aloud, "for doing my work for me." It amused him to no end that four of them, three of whom were actually quite powerful, had been reduced to teenagers to relive their lives. It did in fact lead to a most interesting dynamic between the four of them.

Jace was resigned to crazy.

Chandra was suddenly responsible and quite the leader. Though she also had her moments of extreme immaturity and childlike behavior.

Ral entertained himself by annoying them. He hadn't changed much if at all. Though he did recognize that now that he was the oldest of the four he did have to keep them from destroying each other.

Lilianna was resigned to having to humor them and their antics, pretending to be above it all. She hadn't changed much either other than being a bit more conversational.


End file.
